IN rainy weather, a special group of frogs emerge from the surface, and become very active – Rain Frogs.
There are two species of Rain Frogs in the Highway area, and in this article, we will be looking at the Plaintive Rain Frog (Breviceps verrucosus) this week.
What does it look like?
Rain Frogs are best known for their pushed-in, grumpy-looking faces.
Combined with their round, chubby body, stubby little legs, and that unhappy face, one can’t not find Rain Frogs to be cute.
They cannot really be mistaken for any other frog.
Plaintive Rain Frogs are generally a purple/brown colour in the Highway area, and the skin appears to have granules on it.
They’re generally just a bit bigger than a R5 coin, although they can grow to 5cm in length.
Are they poisonous?
No, however, some Rain Frog species are able to secrete a toxin if harassed.
What do they sound like?
They have a mournful, whistle-like call.
Where do they live?
These frogs are quite similar in behaviour to the Shovel-nosed Frogs, featured in the previous edition of this column.
They spend most of their time underground, remaining dormant during winter and dry spells.
They tend to favour grasslands which border forests, and in forests themselves.
When the spring rains start falling, these frogs become active.
Throughout spring, and much of summer, they can be heard on rainy days and nights, in fairly high numbers, but trying to find one is a real challenge.
On the surface they may hunt small insects (they enjoy flying ants) and search for mates (calling plays a big part in this).
When burying they go in reverse. They wriggle into the ground, using their relatively strong back legs to dig themselves underground.
Like the Shovel-nosed Frogs, they do not breed in water and they can’t swim.
They’ll dig a cavity in the ground, and lay their eggs in there in a clump.
This clump of eggs is laid with a jelly-like substance to cover them. When the tadpoles hatch, this jelly-like substance becomes foamy, and the tadpoles live and develop in that fluid.
They emerge out of the ground as fully formed little Rain Frogs. It’s a remarkable process.
