Frogs That Live in Water All the Time

There are thousands of species of frogs in the world, and many of them spend the majority of their time living on land, though they also will enter water sources to eat, breed or lay eggs. There are several species of frog, however, who live in the water full time. Though all of these frogs must still surface to breathe, they have adapted to holding their breath longer than other types of frogs so can spend the majority of their time completely submerged.

  1. Species

    • There are two species of frogs that live in the water full time -- the African clawed frog (Xenopus laeris) and the African dwarf frog (Hymenochirus boetgeri). The Surinam toad (Pipa pipa) is a species of toad that also lives out its life in the water.

    Locations

    • While the African clawed frog and dwarf frog are found in areas of Africa, such as the African Rift Valley and other sub-Saharan areas, the Surinam toad is indigenous to South America and can be found in the Amazon region, Peru, Guyana, Surinam and Brazil. The African clawed frog has been introduced into bodies of water around the world, including in North America, and has become an invasive species in many areas, breeding uncontrollably and eating the foods that indigenous species should be eating.

    Features

    • Though their names and habitats are similar, the African cClawed and African dwarf frogs are not the same. The clawed frog is larger, with males growing up to 2.5 inches long and females up to 4.5 inches long. They have wedge-shaped heads with no tongues or visible ears (and males have no vocal cords), and hornlike tips on their inside toes that resemble claws. Their coloring is normally dark with a mottled pattern, but they have the ability to change color somewhat to match their environment. Dwarf frogs, on the other hand, are smaller -- only 1.5 inches long for males and 2 inches long for females. They are light to dark greenish in color with some mottling patterns. Surinam toads are the largest of the three aquatic frog and toad species. They grow from 6 to 8 inches in length and have a flat, rectangular body shape and a triangle-shaped head with flaps of skin at the jaws. They are grayish brown in color, with varying shades of light to dark, and have fingers on their front feet with star-shaped tactile organs on the tips of each.

    Unusual Characteristics

    • The Surinam toad has one of the most unusual breeding methods of any amphibian. After the female lays her eggs, the male fertilizes them and then presses them into the soft flesh of the female's back, where skin grows over and around them until they are enclosed in a honeycomb-like structure. The young go through all early metamorphosis stages in the female toad's back until they hatch out as fully formed froglets. The African dwarf frog has a more typical breeding method than the Surinam toad, but does have a unusual way of spending time. Instead of swimming or perching on things constantly, the African dwarf frog floats motionless in the water in what is called a Zen position (the technical term is "burbling"). In this position its arms and legs are outstretched, though sometimes one foot is used for balance.