Barking Frog

The Barking frog - Eleutherodactilus augusti - an unusual name! It gets its name quite obviously because it sounds like a dog barking!

These frogs are also known as Robber Frog, Cliff Frog and Rock Frog. The subspecies Eastern Barking Frog or Eleutherodactylus augusti latrans can be found in The Chihuahuan Desert region.

Characteristics:

Males average about 70mm. As is the norm with frogs, the female is actually larger, measuring in at around 94mm.

Their colouring can vary from brownish to pale gray, with circular patterns in a slightly darker colour often found. They can have a yellowish colouring on the back and limbs and sometimes the face.

Their forearms are sturdy, with club-like toes, and the feet and fingers have lots of tubercles present..

The younger frogs are a dark gray or grayish-green in colour and have a light bank across of back of the torso. Barking frogs can be found in the United States and especially Texas and south-eastern Mexico. They have also been found in south-eastern Arizona.

This particular frog is sub-tropical and likes rocky habitats. It also likes to have access to moist subterranean microhabitats. They are typically found in areas of rocky limestone and high water table.

Their diet consists of camel crickets and land snails although it is likely they feast on other invertebrates.

The male makes the barking dog sound during mating calls and this call can be heard a long way away. Most often the frog will make this noise whilst it is secluded deep in a fissure within the rocks, and then the sound will carry by being bounced from rock face to rock face.

On the subject of mating, as in nearly all frogs, fertilisation takes place externally. The eggs are laid in a moist place, for example under a rock, and as the larval stage takes place within the egg, rather than a tadpole coming out from the egg, a froglet will emerge!It is quite rare to come across this frog in the wild, though they can be heard singing in choruses in many different locations.

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