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''Rhinoderma'', commonly known as Darwin's frogs, is a genus of small
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 ...
s found in
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
and adjacent parts of
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
. It has just two species, of which the
Chile Darwin's frog The Chile Darwin's frog (''Rhinoderma rufum''), also called the northern Darwin's frog, is one of only two members of the family Rhinodermatidae. It is endemic to central Chile, although it might well be extinct. Description The Chile Darwin's ...
(''R. rufum'') is highly endangered or may already be extinct. The better-known
Darwin's frog Darwin’s frog (''Rhinoderma darwinii''), also called the Southern Darwin's frog, is a species of Chilean/Argentinian frog of the family Rhinodermatidae. It was discovered by Charles Darwin during his voyage on voyage on HMS ''Beagle''. on a ...
(''R. darwinii'') is endangered. Both species are notable for their unusual breeding, with the
tadpole A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found ...
s being raised inside the mouths of the males. The
eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...
are laid on the ground. The male frog transports the tadpoles into his enlarged vocal sac. In the Chile Darwin's frog, the tadpoles are transported to a water source and released for the duration of their development. In Darwin's frog, they reside in the vocal sac until metamorphosis. They may carry between five and 15 offspring. Darwin's frogs are separated into a separate family based purely upon this behavioural adaptation, which is unique among frogs. Darwin's frogs are small, reaching a size of only in length. They are predominantly brown or green frogs, and have long, narrow noses. They are primarily terrestrial.


References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1074141, from2=Q13408787 * Taxa named by André Marie Constant Duméril Taxa named by Gabriel Bibron