Inquisivi water frog facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Inquisivi water frog |
|
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification |
The Telmatobius espadai, also known as the Inquisivi water frog, is a special kind of frog. It belongs to the family Telmatobiidae. This frog is one of fourteen types of Telmatobius water frogs that live only in Bolivia. It is a very rare animal.
Contents
What Does It Look Like?
This small water frog has greenish-brown skin. It has tiny black and yellow spots all over its body. This helps it hide very well under tree roots or stones. If you look closely, you can see small bumps, called pustules, on its back. These bumps make its skin look a bit rough.
The undersides of its legs are orange. Its belly and throat are grey. The back legs are long and thin. This shape helps the frog push itself through water. Its feet are only partly webbed. This means it spends some of its life on land, not just in water. Young frogs are usually greener than adult frogs. They also have more yellow spots.
Where Does It Live?
The Inquisivi water frog lives only in Bolivia. Scientists have found it in just two areas. One area is the Rio Miguillas valley near Choquetanga Chico. This place is in the La Paz region. The other area is near Rio Apaza, in the Cochabamba region.
This water frog likes to live in clear streams. These streams are found high up in cloud forests. A cloud forest is a type of forest that often has clouds or fog around it. The frogs live at very high elevations, between 3,000 and 3,500 meters (about 9,800 to 11,500 feet) above sea level.
Adult frogs usually rest above the water. They hide under tree trunks or stones. Young frogs and tadpoles hide under stones. They also hide among aquatic plants in the water.
Life and Habits
Scientists do not know much about the life of this very rare frog. They think it spends some of its time on land. The tadpole of this frog has a large mouth part that works like a suction cup. This is special because no other Telmatobius water frog tadpole has this feature.
Scientists are not sure what the suction cup is for. It might help the tadpole hold onto surfaces. This would stop it from being washed away by strong water currents. It could also be used to suck up food.
Protecting the Inquisivi Water Frog
The Inquisivi water frog is now extremely rare. In 1998, scientists looked for these frogs. They found only one tadpole. This tadpole showed signs of a disease called chytridiomycosis. This disease causes frogs to die. It is a big problem for frog species all over the world. It has caused many frog populations to shrink or even disappear.
There are also worries about a road that is very close to one of the places where the frog lives. Roads can cause problems for wildlife. Also, some types of water frogs are sometimes caught and used in drinks. People believe these drinks have special powers. This might also have caused the number of Inquisivi water frogs to go down.
The Inquisivi water frog is listed as Critically Endangered (CR) on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's IUCN Red List. This means it is at a very high risk of becoming extinct. As of 2010, there were no known plans to protect this specific frog. There was also no new information on how many frogs were left.
However, one group of these frogs lives near the edge of the Carrasco National Park. If this group of frogs is still there, they might be safer because of the park's protection.
