Facts about Phantom Frogs

1. 08

   Restricted to a single 10-square-kilometer mountain region in southeastern Brazil, phantom frogs depend entirely on this tiny Atlantic Forest reserve for their continued survival.

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2. 07

   Phantom frog skin secretions contain antimicrobial compounds that protect against fungal infections common in humid Atlantic Forest environments where the species inhabits moisture-saturated rock crevices.

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3. 06

   Nocturnal activity patterns mean phantom frogs hunt for small arthropods exclusively during humid nights when moisture levels in Atlantic Forest microhabitats exceed 85 percent.

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4. 05

   The phantom frog's eggs are laid in small rock crevices near streams, where tadpoles develop in isolated water pockets within the Atlantic Forest's rocky terrain.

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5. 04

   Cophomantis saxicola measures only 12-16 millimeters in body length, making the phantom frog among the smallest frog species in the Americas.

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6. 03

   Fewer than 50 phantom frog specimens have been collected since the species' 1998 rediscovery, making it one of Brazil's rarest amphibians with critically endangered conservation status.

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7. 02

   Phantom frogs produce distinctive calls at frequencies between 4,000 and 8,000 hertz, audible only during specific rainy periods in their Atlantic Forest habitat.

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8. 01

   In 1998, scientists discovered the phantom frog in Brazil's Atlantic Forest, a species that vanished from scientific records for over a century before its rediscovery.

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