At a Glance
The Redbelly Egg Frog is only found in one area on Mount Manegouba in Cameroon. Scientists estimate that the vivid red frog lives in a 34 square-kilometer patch of forest on the massif’s southeastern slopes, but they think even that could be an overestimate.
The frog lives in tropical forest near wetlands, around streams and springs. The frogs make their homes under the cover of dense plants, in leaf litter, or in crevices under the roots of trees and plants.
The Redbelly Egg Frog isn’t able to cope with extreme changes to the forests and wetlands it depends on. The forests where it lives are increasingly cut down and turned into agricultural land, or cut down for firewood. The frogs breathe through their skin and when pesticides or herbicides from farms enter the streams that they breed in, it is toxic to them. The bark of the African Cherry, an evergreen tree endemic to Cameroon, is also often unsustainably collected and sold to pharmaceutical companies. When entire trees are stripped of their bark they die, and as more trees die, the microclimate where the Redbelly Egg Frog is found on Mount Manegouba changes.
Although the species has always lived in a small area, the Redbelly Egg Frog did have a thriving population within it, but since about 2010 the species has become rare.
At a glance
Taxa
Amphibians
Geography
Cameroon
Status
Critically Endangered
Habitat
Montane rainforest
Estimated Population
Unknown
Threats
Habitat destruction from agriculture, pollution
Potential Recovery Actions
Habitat restoration; conservation breeding; reintroduction; community engagement; education
