page_title: African dwarf frog
section_title: In the wild
hierarchical_section_title: African dwarf frog / In the wild
caption_attribution_description: English: One year old young male Dwarf African Clawed Frog - Hymenochirus boettgeri
context_page_description: The African dwarf frog is a type of aquatic frog native to parts of Equatorial Africa. It is common in the pet trade and is often mistaken for the African clawed frog, a similar-looking frog in the same family. African dwarf frogs are also known as dwarf clawed frogs. Their common name is obtained from their place of origin and the claws on their front legs.
context_section_description: This African frog habitat in the wild consists of shallow rivers, creeks, and ponds during the dry season and in the flooded areas of the forests during the wet season. These creatures prefer eating near the bottom where their coloration blends with the mud and leaf litter and they can be safe from predators.
  Males are slim and develop a small gland behind each of their front legs; this gland is not very well understood, but is believed to play some part in mating. The gland is a small white spot on both sides, a minor outward bulge on both sides of the frog. Males are known to “sing” or “hum” during mating or when excited, although they sometimes “hum” even if they have no intention of mating. The females of this species are 40% larger than males when fully mature. They have pear-shaped bodies, as their abdomens  fill with eggs as they reach a mating stage. Another distinction is the females have a more pronounced genital region, called an ovipositor.
  African dwarf frogs mate in amplexus, during which the male grabs the female around the abdomen just in front of her back legs. The female becomes motionless and her front limbs may twitch sporadically. Amplexus usually happens at night after one or more nights of “humming” by the male. During amplexus, the female swims, laying eggs on the surface of the water, one at a time, whilst towing the male. She swims to the bottom between layings. The male fertilizes the eggs during this time by releasing sperm into the water. Amplexus can last for several hours. When the female has laid all her eggs she signals the male once more by going motionless, and after several minutes, the male releases the female and she returns to her normal behavior.
caption: Note the black claws on hind legs
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