Arum Frog

Fascinating facts about the Arum Frog

• At 40 mm long, the arum frog has bright orange feet tucked under its body and can change its skin colour to match its surroundings, such as the creamy white of arum lily flowers.
• From Cape Town to Port Elizabeth, this tiny South African endemic lives in Mediterranean-type shrublands, rivers, swamps and even the quiet bottoms of arum lilies where it ambushes pollinating insects.
• Males launch their nighttime chorus right after sunset, perching on reeds, sedges or the pads of water lilies and calling sporadically on cloudy, rainy afternoons.
• Breeding runs from September through January, when females stick clutches of 10 to 30 eggs to submerged roots and stems, letting the next generation develop in slow-flowing ponds and pans.
• Despite fears, the frog’s survival isn’t linked to the trade of arum lilies; its biggest threats are habitat loss from invasive plants and fire, yet it remains classified as least concern.

At a glance

About the Arum Frog

The arum frog (Hyperolius horstockii) is a diminutive reed frog, barely reaching 40 mm, its body a mutable canvas of cream to brown mottled with tiny black specks. A pale dorsolateral stripe runs from snout along the flanks, edged by a dark-brown band and a fine dark line, while its concealed limbs blaze orange-red, a flash visible only when it darts from hiding. Males display a bright ochre gular flap, and both sexes possess horizontal pupils that scan the world with a keen, low-light focus. Their tadpoles, also 40 mm, are brown with darker longitudinal bands on their tails, a pattern that blends with the murky waters they inhabit. Endemic to South Africa’s southern coastal plain, from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth, this frog thrives in Mediterranean-type shrublands, rivers, swamps, intermittent lakes, marshes, and ponds. It is a master of disguise, often nesting at the base of arum lilies (Zantedeschia aethiopica) where it can shift its hue to match the flower’s pristine white, rendering it virtually invisible to predators and prey alike. Males call from elevated reeds or lily pads just after sunset, their chorus echoing over quiet streams and pans during the September-January breeding season. After mating, females attach clutches of ten to thirty eggs to submerged plant roots, ensuring the next generation is tucked safely beneath the water’s surface, ready to emerge as the next camouflaged hunter.

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