These frogs were first discovered in 1898. At first they were classified as toads, then they were classified as tree frogs or real frogs, and later they were allocated to the hotel family of ghost frogs (Heleophrynidae)
The Cape Ghost Frog lives in the Cape Province in southern Africa and leads a nocturnal lifestyle. The life of this amphibian is inextricably linked with water. She lives in mountain streams with cold water and a fast current, spending part of her time on the banks of densely overgrown with grass.
Shelter for the rocks are cracks in the rocks or niches under the stones, where she can easily stick her little body. With suction cups at your fingertips, the frog can climb wet stones and climb steep cliffs. Being in the water, amphibian clings to stones with its suction cups and keeps in one place despite the strong current. She also does not have much difficulty swimming against the stream, as she is a great swimmer. Outside the mating season, a ghost frog is rarely excommunicated by a reservoir of more than 20 meters. It feeds on insects, larvae and various invertebrate animals. On her upper jaw and on the palate are teeth with which she can hold even very slippery prey.
The mating frog ghost mating season begins in October and lasts until January. At this time, small spikes appear on the skin of the males. Males gather in groups on the banks of a stream and tirelessly call their friends. After mating on land, the female begins to lay large yellow eggs. The place for them is puddles or wet pebbles located next to the water stream. One female can lay up to 200 eggs. Five days later, tadpoles appear from the eggs, which immediately go to the stream and are fed by the yolk sac. They have disk-shaped suction cups near their mouths that attach them to pitfalls. With the help of suction cups, they are able to climb up the cliffs of waterfalls. Tadpoles eat small algae, scraping them off stone surfaces. At the larval development stage, they reach a length of 6 cm. The tadpole stage lasts 12 months, and then it turns into an adult.
Ghost frog larvae were discovered earlier than adults. They significantly differ from other tadpoles, since they have wedge-shaped heads strongly flattened in the dorso-abdominal direction, and their body is oblong. Tadpoles of other species of frogs are round or oval.
The body length of the Cape Ghost Frog is 5 cm. Large eyes are located in the upper part of the flat head with a wide muzzle. Smooth skin covers a small body, oblate in the dorso-abdominal direction. The body has a green, yellowish or brown color with irregularly shaped dark spots scattered over the entire surface. On the forelimbs are 4 fingers with suction cups. The fingers of the hind limbs are connected by membranes.
The life span of a Cape Frog-cast in natural conditions is about 5 years.
