El Cuero
Eukaryota
Animalia
Chordata
Amphibia
Anura
Pipidae
Carnivore
4
2
Earth
Patagonia
Freshwater
Endangered
El Cuero is a species of giant Pipid frog, closely related to the Common Surinam Toad.
Description
The size of El Cuero ranges from 2-5 feet across and weighs approximately 65 pounds.
Ecology
Native to Chile and Argentina, especially the Chilean glacial Lake Lacar, located in the Andes Mountains.
Like their relative, the Surinam Toad, after mating the female Cuero's back is gradually swelled to a puffy condition. The male and female cloacae are brought close together, and many eggs are transferred anteriorly to the female's swollen dorsal epidermis.
The eggs then become implanted into the female's dorsal epidermis. During the first day the eggs on the female's back will sink into the skin and by evening will be set into the back of the female. Two days later, the yolks of most of the eggs are beneath the skin level and only parts of the jelly and outer membranes of the eggs are visible on the backs above. The coverings over the eggs will remain in the wild until the brood emerges. The embryos develop through to the tadpole stage inside these pockets, during which they partially emerge from the skin giving the female an appearance of a writhing mass of tentacles