Black rain frog

The black rain frog is a species of frogs in the family Brevicipitidae. It is endemic to South Africa.

Scientific name: Breviceps fuscus

Habitat: According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the grumpy frog only lives in the mountains of South Africa.

Lifestyle: Breviceps fuscus is typically dark brown or nearly black with a slightly lighter ventral surface and no pigmented patterns. These are burrowing frogs that spend most of their lives underground. Breviceps fuscus is a locally abundant burrowing frog, found in tunnels up to 150 mm deep or among vegetation up to about 30 cm above the ground; it is not usually in association with bodies of water.

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This species is eaten by the local bushpig Potamochoerus porcus , and the colubrid snake Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia. Potential threats to Breviceps fuscus are loss of habitat due to invasive plants and wildfire, but much of the species’ range is protected and its population is currently stable.

Adorable fact: There’s actually a legitimate reason why the black rain frog looks like an angry lump. “Many people know rain frog species from the adorable viral videos circulating on the internet,” Nicole F. Angeli, a conservation biologist at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, told Gizmodo. “Inflating is a defensive posture effective when a predator tries to pull an individual from a burrow. These puffy little frogs are the product of millions of years of survival in a harsh world!”