About
Hewitt’s ghost frog is an attractively patterned frog that lives in fast flowing mountain streams and rivers. The tadpoles of this species develop very slowly, taking up to two years to complete their metamorphosis into the adult form.
Hewitt’s ghost frog is part of a small family of frogs, Heleophrynidae, which diverged from all other amphibians almost 160 million years ago during the Jurassic period. In evolutionary terms, these frogs have been on their own branch of the tree of life since before the origin of all modern birds!
Hewitt’s ghost frog lives in fynbos heathland and grassy fynbos. However, only tiny remnants of fynbos survive within the range of the frog, thus there is very little non-breeding habitat remaining for the species. Consequently, this species is listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List.
The main threats to Hewitt’s ghost frog are the loss of suitable habitat due to exotic pine plantations, fires, erosion, stream siltation, dams and road building around their habitat. There are no current species specific conservation measures for this species and more research is required to understand the current population status of this species.
- Order: Anura
- Family: Heleophrynidae
- Population: Unknown
- Trend: unknown
- Size: 47-50mm
EDGE Score
Distribution
This species is found in the headwaters of the Elandsberg mountains and the Cockscomb mountains in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.
Habitat and Ecology
This species lives in fast flowing rivers with rocky beds. Tadpoles attach to rocks using their sucker-like mouth parts to avoid getting washed away. The diet of adults consists of a range of insects, arthropods, snails and smaller species of frog.
