14 DAY TRIAL // Many years ago, so-called vocal sac breeding frogs were a fairly common sight in Chile. This is no longer the case. In fact, specialists say that evidence points to the fact that the species is now extinct.
What made these frogs stand out from other amphibians was the fact that, when the time came for them to reproduce, males were the ones in charge of ensuring the survival of the new generation. Sources explain that male Rhinoderma rufum housed their offspring inside their vocal sac almost immediately after they had been born.
They kept the tadpoles there until they managed to find a water source that could act as their nursery.
Although it's been a while since anyone has last seen a frog belonging to this species, conservationists hope that the amphibians are hiding in some remote place to which they lack access.
“If Rhinoderma rufum is extinct, this will become the first extinction of an endemic vertebrate species in Chile. Hope remains that the species still survives at an inaccessible area,” researcher Claudio Soto-Azat says.