One of the 47 frogs on WAnimals
Amphibians · Anura · Arthroleptidae
Hairy Frog
Trichobatrachus robustus
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary
The hairy frog or Wolverine frog is one of the most extraordinary amphibians in the world. During the breeding season the males grow dermal filaments on their flanks and thighs that look like hair and that work as extra gills. And it has a defence mechanism that seems to come straight out of fiction.
Size
9 cm – 13 cm
Lifespan
10 years
Diet
Insectivore
Feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates.
Activity
Nocturnal
Active mainly at night.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Sighting difficulty
Easy
Fun facts
- GeneralIt breaks its own toe bones to push claws out through the skin.
- reproducciónIn the breeding season the males grow hair-like filaments of skin, which increase the surface available for taking up oxygen while they guard the eggs.
- It breaks its own bones to defend itself: when threatened it contracts muscles that deliberately fracture the toe bones of its hind feet and drive them out through the skin, forming bone claws. It is the only vertebrate known with this mechanism.
- The males' hair is not hair: it consists of dermal filaments full of capillaries that work as extra gills, letting the male stay submerged for weeks guarding the clutch without coming up to breathe.
- It is still not known how the claws retract: they are assumed to return to position when the muscle relaxes and the wound heals, but the process has never been observed directly.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (amphibian)
- Habitat & environment
- Fast-flowing streams in the rainforests of Central and West Africa
- Sexual maturity
- 2 years
- Gestation / incubation
- Larval development in fast-flowing streams
- Litter / clutch size
- 500 eggs
Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichobatrachus_robustus
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapWhere to watch it
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Hairy Frog — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Dune Squeaker
Arthroleptis stenodactylus
Zaire Dwarf Clawed Frog
Hymenochirus boettgeri
Rhinoceros Viper
Bitis nasicornis
Water Chevrotain
Hyemoschus aquaticus
EndangeredGiant Pangolin
Smutsia gigantea
Tree Pangolin
Phataginus tricuspis
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