#african rain frog

[dead-body12]

I refuse to accept that there are any differences between African Rain Frogs and Black Velvet Spiders

Like these are the same fucking animal just in a slightly different font

[crippledgiraff]

An African Rain Frog! Who’s a Witch! And a Demon!

A fun little commission.

[boypilotgoods]

doing my best black rainfrog sticker | shirt | phone case | print

[noinfinity]

these are the same creature to me

[haiki4you]

17th August, 2023

Brave creature. Vital

To the planet. A screaming

Wet avocado.

[be-nice-to-your-local-cryptids]

Black velvet spiders are just the spider version of African rain frogs

[thewatcher727]

This is Mr Croaker. No context needed.

[hometoursandotherstuff]

[dogkin]

Tag yourself based on real frog facts!

by u/xbluewolfiex on Reddit

[froggirleyeball]

Black Rain Frog

AKA plain rain frog, brown short-headed frog, tsitsikamma frog, Breviceps fuscus

A little avocado...

Rain frogs can look a little silly, like little balls with arms, but they're also very interesting! They spend most of the day burrowed up in soil or leaves, and don't hatch as tadpoles - their babies are already frog-shaped, and called froglets!

Black rain frogs in particular have little inward-facing arms that make them better at burrowing! They're only found within a small region of South Africa, and can be up to 2 inches long.

They live in shrubland, preferably near sand they can burrow up in, and don't like living near open water. They only live their 6-inch-long tunnels at night, in order to hunt and mate. They can also inflate to try to scare off predators, getting up to 7 times as big!!

[abstergo-updates]

Opinion on frogs? And how to frogs help the Templar-Assassin War in your favor?

step 1: give all the frogs guns

step 2: profit

[avocado-frog]

let it be known that my name here is avocado frog not because I like avocados but because the frogs look really cool and I think you should all see them

AND ALSO AVOCADOS ARE GROSS!!!

[mossytreee]

I just realized something… My family doesn’t even know my favorite color. They also don’t know about my favorite animal; the black rain frog.

The black rain frog, also known as Breviceps fuscus, is a frog that has to crawl instead of walk. This fucking frog can’t walk, jump, or swim, how is it even a frog at this point? I love them because they look so stupid and grumpy/sad, they are adorable in that way. They eat insects such as termites, flies, crickets, and ants. They also dig up larvae, such as moth larvae, spider larvae, and and other spineless beings, then eat them. The frogs also have bumps on their skin, these bumps are not warts, but are instead something called knobby tubercle. These frogs are really silly and ugly, making them even cuter. They are found in temperate forests in South Africa. The black rain frog is actually really tiny, like a juvenile could fit on a fingertip, so small. I love these little guys so much, I could talk about them forever, AAAAAAAAAAA. I LOVE THEM SM.

I think I’m autism

[herpsandbirds]

I read somewhere that rain frogs are mostly muscle, is this true? Extremely curious about their anatomy so I'm wondering if you have any insight as to why/how they are so round!

Black Rain Frog (Breviceps fuscus), family Brevicipitidae, endemic to South Africa

photograph by Brittany Raine | Nature ~ Adventure ~ Photography | (@brittle_sees)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yes, you are correct, Rain Frogs are actually not altogether that fat... they're just shaped like that. They actually do have quite a lot of muscle mass for their size.

Having a round, compact body seems to allow for better, more efficient, burrowing.

You see, that "fat", round body again and again in different groups of burrowing frogs, like many of the Microhylidae and the Spadefoots. This group of frogs does seem to be the ultimate in roundness though!

For a more technical explanation of how they're structured, check out Mark Scherz's recent post about the subject...

The Travelling Taxonomist - Why are rain frogs so round? What's /inside/ of... (tumblr.com)

Desert Rain Frog (Breviceps macrops), family Brevicipitidae, South Africa

A few herpetologists are now including rain frogs (and their close relatives) in the family Hemisotidae, as the subfamily Brevicipitinae. I am not, though the 2 families are now considered to be very closely related.

photograph by Tyrone Ping Tyrone Ping - Exploring Southern African Herpetofauna

[hedgehog-moss]

I meant to do some greenhouse cleaning and tidying today because my mum is coming to visit and I don't want to be judged. It involved finally bringing myself to say goodbye to my moribund basil plants (by turning them into pesto) among other things—but my plans were derailed when I took down one of the aquaponics towers and heard a big splash. I thought I'd disturbed a fish that was napping amid the plant roots in the water, but no.... I looked into the fish tank and saw a big frog indignantly swimming away.

I went to get a little dip net and spent a solid half hour trying to fish the frog out—she swam so fast! And was really determined to stay in the fish tank, even when I told her I would put her outside somewhere watery and nice where she could meet frog friends. But I did catch her in the end.

I'd never seen a completely black frog before! When I googled for more info, all I found were photos of the (amazing) African rain frog, which one website compared to an angry avocado.

Back to my tank squatter—she was delicately placed on the edge of the barrel that collects spring water in the pasture and invited to start a new life here, and she morosely sat for quite a while, mulling over her options.

I'm not even lying to you, frog: I found a beautiful toad in the pasture some time ago... I'm moving you from a place of existential alienation (lone frog in fish tank) to a hot spot of batracian life.

I tried to film the moment when the frog accepted her fate and gracefully jumped into the barrel but of course I started filming just a second too late and she refused to come back for a second take. In the meantime, every pasture dweller had noticed that something interesting was happening, and converged towards me. When they found my hands and pockets empty of snacks their reactions ranged from sharp betrayal to distant melancholy.

Pirlouit looked so sad in the rain staring at the horizon, pondering the inherent unfairness of life, I ended up letting him sniff the dip net, like, did you actually WANT to eat a frog?

I know, but this one was too large for you.

Poldine was the only one who didn't resent me for visiting them with a frog and no snacks; she was just happy for the opportunity to kiss someone's cheek.

When I went home and looked at my frog pictures I realised there was an apple floating in the barrel ! which I hadn't seen since I was too focused on the frog. The apple tree has shed nearly all of its fruit by now, it must be one of the last apples of the year... And since entering the pasture with a poor slimy excuse for a snack in my dip net had clearly made a dent in my approval ratings, I decided to go back and offer llamas & donkey the apple along with some vegetable peelings.

Pandolf was intrigued when I fished an apple out of the barrel; he sat down in front of me the way he does to signal that he is a good dog and possibly deserving of good things; but UNLIKE SOME he wasn't disappointed with me when he realised the thing I was holding wasn't meant for him because the world doesn't revolve around him.

.... approval ratings skyrocketing 📈

Look at Pirlouit in the background, startled and horrified as he realises he left the scene to soon!

Look at him leaving a cloud of dust behind him as he rushes towards us!

Don't worry Pirou, I saved you a whole half courgette <3 You can drop the tragic misunderstood persecuted look now.

[cypherdecypher]

Animal of the Day!

West African Lungfish (Protopterus annectens)

(Photo from Zoo Leipzig)

Conservation Status- Least Concern

Habitat- Western Africa; Southern Africa

Size (Weight/Length)- 3.6 kg; 100 cm

Diet- Mollusks; Frogs; Fish; Roots; Seeds

Cool Facts- The West African lungfish have one of the most complex respiratory systems of any fish. Capable of breathing air with help from gas bladders, they can maximize their gas exchange in their lungs. Even when water is abundant, West African Lungfish breathe directly from the surface. However, living in Africa often means a lack of water for most of winter. These lungfish are capable of living outside of water for these months, buried in dry riverbeds and waiting for the rains to bring rivers. During their aestivation, the West African lungfish doesn’t eat at all. One time, a lungfish survived 3 and a half years without eating anything as it waited for its river to fill.

Rating- 13/10 (Epitome of noodle arms.)