Ghost Frog Habitat

Members of the small family heleophrynidae, ghost frogs are divided into only six species--two of which are considered critically endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Maintaining the ghost frog's natural habitat is a crucial factor in ensuring the survival of this animal, and understanding the nature of their home is essential toward both protecting these tiny amphibians from unnecessary threats to their existence.

  1. Geography

    • Finding a ghost frog in a swamp or stream near you will prove not merely difficult, but impossible. This is because ghost frogs are native to only one geographical region, according to the University of Michigan--South Africa. Even if you live in this large African country, however, your changes of encountering one of these tiny frogs is still slim, unless you travel to the southernmost tip of the country--and the African continent--where the Drakensberg Mountain range juts against the horizon.

    Types

    • As a habitat, the Drakensberg Mountains provide various types of places in which ghost frogs make their homes. This mountain range is filled with forests, grasslands and streams--all of which make up the sole natural habitat of the world's handful of ghost frog species. Ghost frogs aren't afraid of heights, either--although the frogs inhabit the flat grasslands below the Drakensbergs, they also reside amid the mountain peaks, living as high as 9,843 feet above sea level, reports Animal Life Resource.

    Features

    • The habitat of the ghost frog contains several key features vital to ghost frogs. Cold, fast-flowing mountain streams abound, where ghost frogs use large pads on their toes and fingers to cling to rocks, avoiding being swept away by the current. Cold water is essential to ghost frog tadpoles, which are slow to develop into adult frogs--growing over the course of two to three years, states Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered. The grasslands and forest floor of the mountains also provide excellent cover for the small frogs, who blend into their surroundings with camouflaged skin.

    Considerations

    • Tragically for the ghost frog, logging in the Drakensberg range has lead to erosion and silt deposits, meaning both contaminated water and increased water temperature, threatening the ghost frog's breeding cycle by causing tadpoles to die before fully developed. Also, ecotourism--tourists traveling to remote, previously untouched regions like the Drakensberg Mountains--and a fungal disease called chytridiomycosis are responsible for a rapid decline in ghost frog populations, says EDGE.

    Potential

    • Due to habitat loss, the ghost frog is facing the prospect of extinction, with two of its species (Hewitt's ghost frog and Rose's ghost frog) listed as critically endangered as of March, 2010. There is hope for these tiny South African frogs, however. Evolutionarily Distinct and Geographically Endangered (EDGE) proposes to protect both the Hewitt's and Rose's ghost frog by creating buffer zones against logging and ecotourism, as well as monitoring the local frog populations for the chytrid fungus responsible for so many deaths among this rare frog.