Aromobates nocturnus

The skunk frog or Venezuelan skunk frog (Aromobates nocturnus) is a frog.  Scientists found it in Trujillo, Venezuela.

Body
This frog can be 62 mm long from nose to rear end. It makes a bad-smelling thing on its skin. It smells like a skunk. The smell makes it harder for animals that want to eat the frog to eat it. The skin of the frog's back is green in color with yellow spots in a line over the belly. There is webbed skin on the back feet.

Home
Scientists saw the frog in exactly one place, Agua de Obispos. They saw it 2250 meters above sea level.  This frog lives in cold streams in cloud forests. Unlike most frogs in the family Aromobatidae, the skunk frog lives in the water instead of on land, and it is awake at night instead of during the day.

Scientists saw the frog in one protected place: Parque Nacional Dinira.

Food
Scientists believe this frog eats insects and other animals bones on the outside.

Young
The female frogs lays eggs on land. The male frogs watch the eggs. After the eggs hatch, the male frogs carry the tadpoles to water.

Danger
Scientists say this frog is in very big danger of dying out and that they could all be dead already.  Scientists went back to the place where the frog was found many times to look for it, but they never saw it again. Scientists say that there are probably 50 or fewer adult frogs alive now. Human beings changed the places where the frog lived to make farms and places for people to raise animals.  Trout fish that people brought to the frog's home also kill this frog. But because many frogs died even in places that human beings had not changed, scientists think the fungal disease chytridiomycosis could also have killed many frogs.

References

Category:Frogs of South America
Category:Poison dart frogs