Seychelles frog

Sooglossus sechellensis

TAXONOMY

Arthroleptis sechellensis Boettger, 1896, Auf den Seychellen.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

None known.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

This is a medium-sized sooglossid. The average snoutvent length is about 0.59 in (15 mm) in males and about 0.79 in (20 mm) in females. The dorsum is golden brown, and the sides and upper surfaces of the legs have scattered black spots. There is a large, often triangular black spot on top of the head between the eyes.

DISTRIBUTION

This species occurs at elevations above 660 ft (200 m) on Mahé and Silhouette, Seychelles archipelago, in the western Indian Ocean.

HABITAT

The Seychelles frog inhabits leaf litter on the forest floor and at the edges of rainforest.

BEHAVIOR

These secretive frogs are seldom seen at the water surface.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

The Seychelles frog feeds on small insects, mites, and other invertebrates that live in forest litter and rotten logs.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Males call day or night from hidden sites on the forest floor during the rainy season: "wrracck toc toc toc toc." Females deposit six to 15 small white eggs in hidden nests. They remain with the eggs until they hatch into tadpoles. Tadpoles are transported on the mother's back until they metamorphose into tiny froglets. There is no aquatic tadpole stage.

CONSERVATION STATUS

The IUCN classifies this species as Vulnerable.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

None known.