Cave Squeaker

The Arthroleptis troglodytes, also known as the “cave squeaker” because of its preferred habitat, was discovered in 1962, but there had no reported sightings since then such that an international red list of threatened species tagged the frog as critically endangered and possibly extinct.

However, in February 2017 scientists from National History Museum of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo announced that four specimens of the frog where found in its own habitat of Chimanimani, a mountainous area in the east.

The cave squeaker is typically small, about 25mm in total length. The tips of its fingers and toes look slightly swollen. It is light brown on the surface with slightly dark speckling on the back of the head, with the remainder of the back being dark brown with irregular dark markings. The arms and legs are strongly banded.

The squeaker undergoes direct development, foregoing existence as a tadpole and hatching directly as a miniature adult. The embryo develops as a tadpole and subsequently into an adult frog before hatching. Although the egg still needs to be laid in a damp place, this ability frees the cave squeaker from dependence on bodies of water for reproduction like most

Reference

1. Frost, Darrel R. (2016). “Arthroleptis troglodytes Poynton, 1963”. Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 10 July 2017

2. “Cave Squeaker, Rare Frog Last Seen in 1962, Is Found in Zimbabwe”. The New York Times. February 4, 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2017