A captive banded rubber frog [Phrynomantis bifasciatus] demonstrating the species’ habit of ‘speed-walking’ instead of hopping. This species can be found throughout much of southern Africa, especially near marshes, lakes, and other still bodies of water. Gif by Henry Astley.
“The water dragon keeps our river safe. Their legacy is sweet clear
water and lush crops and Tar seeping from the blood of those that seek
them out. You can even see their work on their flesh. The poisons
they’ve absorbed for centuries shift across their skin in bursts of
color as they walk the festival, gently inspecting things with golden
whiskers. The elders say to make our offerings pretty and our
conversation pleasant as we give thanks.
But we must never touch them.
And we especially must never search out the source of the lovely, lonely, singing we hear during the summer rains.”
Ad Camp on patreon asked for something that was fun to look at, but not to touch. so have a dragon.
The African tree toad [Nectophryne afra] is a lovely little amphibian native to West and Central Africa. While they closely resemble tree frogs, these toads are indeed members of the family Bufonidae, and are thus “true toads”. They rest in the cool leaf litter of the forest during the day, and climb into the tree canopy at night to hunt. Images by Bernard Dupont.
Looking like he’d spent the last week inside a rock tumbler, this Rose’s rain frog [Breviceps rosei] was found in a pond in Kommetjie, in the Western Cape province of South Africa, by iSpot user Sally.
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