African Great Grey Foam-nesting
Treefrog
Chiromantis xerampelina
Distribution, Climate & Habitat: found in eastern Africa. In the more tropical parts of its range this species inhabits humid savannah and forests; farther south it prefers dry savannah
Size: females reach 9 centimetres, males only 7.5 centimetres
Diet: mainly insects found on the ground or captured in flight; hunts mainly at night
Appearance:
grey above with darker, marbled patterning; uniform pale below.
The grey colouration and marbled patterning allow this species to blend perfectly
as it perches on a sun-bleached branch or log, where it will hunt for insects.
Males develop a dark throat during the mating season
Habits: throughout its range, the African Great Grey encounters the wet and dry seasons. During the dry season it buries itself beneath the ground and undergoes a form of "summer hibernation", called aestivation, in a mucus-lined burrow that prevents the frog from drying out. When the rains return, the African Great Grey emerges at the surface within hours and gathers around small pools and ponds to reproduce. Perched on a branch overhanging a pool or pond, the female uses her back legs to make a large, football-sized foam-nest. It is within this foam-nest that the tadpoles develop. The foam protects the tadpoles from the drying effects of the sun. The next rainstorm washes the tadpoles into the pond, where they will feed and develop into small frogs
Fascinating Fact:
as well as aestivating during the dry season
and producing a foam-nest, the African Great Grey also produces a mucus from
its skin that dries to form a waterproof layer. This prevents the frog from
drying out when active during the daytime