Darwin's frog
| Darwin's frog | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Rhinodermatidae |
| Genus: | Rhinoderma |
| Species: | R. darwinii |
| Binomial name | |
| Rhinoderma darwinii | |
| Range in Chile in red (also occurs in adjacent southwestern Argentina) | |
Darwin's frog (Rhinoderma darwinii), also called the Southern Darwin's frog, is a species of frog of the family Rhinodermatidae. It was discovered by Charles Darwin during his voyage on HMS Beagle. on a trip to Chile. In 1841, French zoologist André Marie Constant Duméril and his assistant Gabriel Bibron described and named Darwin's frog. The diet of R. darwinii consists mostly of herbivore invertebrates. R. darwinii is currently classified as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Darwin's frog has an unusual method of brooding, in which the male will facilitate development of its tadpoles inside its vocal sac. This male brooding may make Darwin's frog unique among extant frog species, as the only other frog that has this behavior is the R. rufum (northern Darwin's frog), which has been presumed extinct since 1981.