''Breviceps adspersus'', also known as common rain frog, bushveld rain frog, and many other vernacular names, is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...

in the family

Brevicipitidae Brevicipitidae or rain frogs is a small family of frogs found in eastern and southern Africa. As of 2020 contains 37 species in 5 genera. eb application 2013. Berkeley, CaliforniaBrevicipitidae AmphibiaWeb, available at http://amphibiaweb.org/. ...

. It is found in

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...

, in

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalaha ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, Eswatini, and

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

Description

The common rain frog lives underground, only emerging to feed and mate after a rain, usually at nighttime. Its body is stout and globular, with a grumpy face. The color of this species is either day or night brown, with rows of lighter tan orange patches, with blue borders. It also has the short, stout limbs typical of most burrowing frogs and toads. However, its back feet are like spades and are able to dig up to 20 inches below underground. If attacked, the frog inflates and lodges itself firmly inside of the burrow. Common rain frogs are known to walk instead of hop. The females are also much larger than males. Since the male cannot grip the female during mating because of the size difference, the female secretes a kind of glue from her back to keep the mating pair together. The stuck-together pair burrow backwards into the soil until they reach a moist spot. Once a suitable spot is reached, the female lays her eggs. The eggs hatch directly into froglets instead of tadpoles. They are 1½ to 2¼ inches long (3 to 6 centimeters). While the concern for these frogs are low, continuous habitat loss within its native region poses a major threat to their well-being and long term survival. The common rain frog inhabits temperate forests and open grasslands of southeast Africa. They are a terrestrial species. These frogs only breed in the rainy season. The population of this species is stable, and listed as "locally common".

Diet

The common rain frog eats insects and termites. Babies often eat caterpillars. First, the adult smacks the bug's head, and this is called dapping. Then they locate the insect. After locating, they use their sticky tongues to lap up the insect.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2571127 Breviceps Frogs of Africa Amphibians of Angola Amphibians of Botswana Amphibians of Eswatini Amphibians of Mozambique Amphibians of Namibia Amphibians of South Africa Amphibians of Zambia Amphibians of Zimbabwe Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters Amphibians described in 1882 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot