A tiny, fully aquatic frog found in the slow-moving streams, swamps, and shallow pools of the Congo Basin in Central Africa. Unlike many of its amphibian cousins that split their lives between land and water, this species is almost entirely at home underwater. It has a small, flattened body with mottled brown and gray coloring that helps it blend in with muddy or leafy bottoms. Its most distinctive features are its tiny clawed toes on its hind feet, which it uses to tear apart food, earning it the name “clawed frog.”

These frogs are poor swimmers compared to sleek fish, so they “hover” and drift about with gentle leg movements, often using their webbed feet like little paddles. They are also obligate aquatic breathers, surfacing regularly to gulp air before sinking back down to the bottom. Unlike many frog species, they don’t have tongues for snapping up prey; instead, they use their claws and strong jaws to grasp and shred small worms, insect larvae, or tiny crustaceans, which makes them very different feeders from the bug-catching frogs we usually imagine.

Another quirky trait of this frog is its gentle, almost secretive personality. Congo dwarf clawed frogs spend much of their time hiding among plants, leaf litter, or even in the shadows of rocks, only darting out to grab passing prey. During courtship, males produce a faint “humming” sound underwater to attract females—a behavior unusual for frogs, since most rely on loud calls projected into the air. After mating, females lay eggs that float to the water’s surface or stick to plants, where tadpoles hatch and later transform into miniature versions of the adults, already equipped for life underwater.

Distribution

Country

Population est.

Status

Year

Comments

Angola

2013

Presence Uncertain

Cameroon

2013

Central Af. Rep.

2013

Congo-Brazzaville

2013

Presence Uncertain

DR Congo (Kinshasa)

2013

Equatorial Guinea

2013

Gabon

2013

Nigeria

2013