Kihansi Spray Toad
Nectophrynoides asperginis
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Range and habitat:
The Kihansi spray toad is native to the Kihansi
River Gorge, which is located in the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania.
Natural diet:
These toads feed on insects and other small invertebrates.
Size / weight range:
The Kihansi spray toads reach at most 1
to 1.5 inches, and are only a few grams in mass.
Interesting Facts:
The Kihansi Spray Toad is extinct in the wild.
Its last refuges are at The Toledo and Bronx Zoos.
The Bronx and Toledo Zoos are working with the Tanzania government to
reintroduce these animals back into the Kihansi Gorge. The first animals
will hopefully be transferred back to Tanzania in 2009 to start a pilot
captive population. Introductions would then occur from these captive
populations in Tanzania.
This animal had one of the smallest ranges of any vertebrate in the world. Its home was limited to only about 8 acres in the Kihansi Gorge at the bottom of large water falls. The name “spray toad” comes from the fact that this species lived in the spray (mist) zones produced by high water falls in the gorge.
The Kihansi spray toad is one of the few frogs that give birth to fully formed young. The small toadlets can produce up to 20 babies at a time, each of which could fit on the head of a pin. Feeding baby Kihansi spray toads require enormous amount of small insects and other invertebrates that are mostly produced here at The Toledo Zoo.
Location at The Toledo Zoo:
Amazing Amphibians exhibit, located
in the Museum of Science
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