| Black Rain Frog | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Information | |
| Range | South Africa |
| Scientific Classification | |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Amphibia |
| Order | Anura |
| Family | Brevicipitidae |
| Genus | Breviceps |
| Species | Breviceps fuscus |
| Conservation Status | |
 Least Concern | |
The Black rain frog (Breviceps fuscus), is a species of frog in the Brevicipitidae family. It is endemic to South Africa. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Black rain frogs are covered in bumpy, wart like spots and have a strange, almost balloon shaped sculpture and have a gloomy face. They grow to a tiny five centimetres. They may look a bit ridiculous but this body is a great defence mechanism, they can inflate like a balloon to deter predators. This also helps to stop being pulled from the burrow they inhabit, as they will not fit through the burrows entrance.
Another reason that amphibians as a whole are deteriorating, such as the rain frogs, is because of invasive plant species and frequent fires, as well as habitat loss as mentioned earlier.
This frogs diet isn't well known, however, we do know that this frog spends its day wandering on the forest floor hunting for worms, spiders and insects. Whilst they do this they are on the lookout for predators such as pigs, snakes and of course, Birds of Prey. These frogs are nocturnal, and hunt in the dark.
Females lay up to forty-three eggs in their burrow at a time, they then lay a mound of empty eggs above the real eggs, almost like a decoy. This will stop predators from eating the eggs because the predator will typically go for the eggs at the top. Similarly to the Emu and the Cassowary both north and south, the male will guard the eggs until they hatch.