About
The cave squeaker frog has not been seen since 1962, where 16 individuals were found and it was discovered as a new species.
The genus Arthroleptis diverged within the squeaker frog family about 70 million years ago in the late cretaceous period, 5 million years before the extinction of the dinosaurs, making them as different from their closest relatives as camels are to whales and at a time when pigs and giraffes shared a common ancestor! This is a very poorly known species and hardly anything is known about its ecology and behaviour. There is also very little direct information about the threats to do this species. There are both diamond and gold mining activities locally which is likely to have made an impact on the habitat of this species. As an isolated montane species, it is also likely at risk due to climate change and high temperatures pushing the frogs further up mountainous regions to maintain the same habitat they live in, and therefore contracting their ranges. The area from which this species has been recorded is protected, primarily in the Chimanimani National Park, but the level and effectiveness of this protection unknown.
- Order: Anura
- Family: Arthroleptidae
- Population: Possibly extinct
- Trend: unknown
- Size: 25mm
EDGE Score
Distribution
This species is known from the western Chimanimani Mountains in eastern Zimbabwe, 1,500 metres above sea level.
Habitat and Ecology
Specimens were collected in sinkholes or caves and a few were found in open montane grassland.