Hairy frog

Trichobatrachus robustus

SUBFAMILY

Astylosterninae

TAXONOMY

Trichobatrachus robustus Boulenger, 1900, West Africa.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

French: Grenouille poilve; German: Haarfrosch.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The frog is stocky, up to 5.2 in (130 mm) in males, although the females only attain 3.6 in (90 mm), with darker markings on a brown background. The throat is yellow. During the breeding season, the sides of the thighs and body of the male develop small hairlike outgrowths. These increase the surface area for the uptake of oxygen. This fringe gives the frog its common name. The tadpole has an oral disk and a large suckerlike disk on the abdomen.

DISTRIBUTION

This frog is known from eastern Nigeria to Equatorial Guinea.

HABITAT

Hairy frogs are found in dense forest along streams.

BEHAVIOR

The frogs are terrestrial during most of the year, and feed along the forest floor. When the rains set in and the breeding season starts, the females remain in the forest to feed while the males move into the streams. Once the females are ready to breed they join the males in the water.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

This species feeds along the edges of streams and on the forest floor. They eat a range of insects and other arthropods.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Eggs are laid in fast-flowing rivers. The male attends the egg clutches underwater, presumably to protect them from predators. The fringe of hairlike papillae enables him to remain underwater for days without needing to come to the surface for air.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not threatened. This species is widely distributed and not in need of any conservation action.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

Large hairy frogs are collected and eaten by local people, although not in significant numbers.