Hairy Frog

Fascinating facts about the Hairy Frog

• The hairy frog can thrust bone-claws through its skin when threatened, breaking a small bony nodule at the fingertip to project sharpened bones outward. These claws are not true keratin claws but are made of bone and are anchored to the nodule by tough collagen strands. When the frog is grabbed it snaps the connection and forces the bones through the skin, delivering a painful defensive weapon.
• During the breeding season male hairy frogs grow hair-like dermal papillae along their flanks and thighs, each flap packed with arteries. This extra surface area functions like external gills, allowing the male to absorb oxygen while he remains with the egg mass for weeks after the female lays it in the water. The oxygen-absorbing skin helps the male stay submerged for the extended guarding period, ensuring the developing embryos receive constant protection.
• The tadpoles of the hairy frog are quite muscular and carnivorous, equipped with several rows of horned teeth. After the adults lay egg masses on rocks in streams, the hatchlings drop into the water where they begin hunting small invertebrates.
• Among the Bakossi of Cameroon, the hairy frog is thought to descend from the sky, and consuming it is believed to restore fertility to childless couples. The belief is tied to local folklore that links the amphibian with reproductive blessing. In practice the frogs are roasted and eaten, a tradition that reinforces the myth. Hunting is done with long spears or machetes, ensuring the frogs are captured for the ritual.
• The hairy frog's retractable bone-claws are regarded as a singular form of natural armament, with only the Otton frog showing a comparable thumb spike. When threatened the frog snaps a small bony nodule at the fingertip, forcing the sharpened bone through its skin as a defensive blade. This mechanism is unlike any other vertebrate weapon and may later retract passively as the tissue heals. Its unique construction underscores an extraordinary evolutionary solution.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

About the Hairy Frog

The Hairy Frog, also called the Wolverine Frog, is the only known vertebrate to produce claws by breaking its own bones. When threatened, it flexes its foot muscles, snapping the tips of its toe bones through the skin to create sharp, curved claws. The 'hair' on the males is actually long dermal papillae packed with blood vessels.

More amphibians to discover

Browse Feravox