Common Name: Gardiner’s Seychelles Frog
Scientific Name: Sechellophryne gardineri
Family: Sooglossidae – Seychelles Frog family
Locations: Seychelles Islands
Size: 0.3- .04 inches (10 – 11 mm)
The Gardiner’s Seychelles Frog lives on the islands of Seychelles, primarily on the Mahé and Silhouette islands. They are one of the smallest species of frogs in the world. The frogs spend their life amongst the leaf litter or on low vegetation in rain forests.
The frogs breed all year long. The males call out from under the leaf litter to attract females. Once the female arrives, the male grasps her from behind in the amplexus position. Then, the female lays her eggs and the male fertilizes them. The female lays between 8 to 16 eggs. The eggs directly hatch into tiny froglets, skipping the tadpole stage.
The Gardiner’s Seychelles Frog is listed as Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. The two main threats to the frog is climate change and habitat degradation. Some of the rainforests where they live were changed to cinnamon tree plantations. Luckily, the frog does live in the Morne Seychellois National Park which protects them. There are captive colonies of the frog but they have not been able to be bred in captivity.
