I have always wondered what it would be like to breathe underwater. Diving into the great unexplored depths of our lakes and oceans with nothing holding me back would be incredible. Unfortunately for air-breathers like me, the closest I can get to this dream is taking air with me. Regardless of whether I take it in my lungs, in a tank on my back, or in the vehicle around me, I will never be able to fully feel like Aquaman. However, our next endangered animal guest is living out this dream of mine in South America. In fact, this four-legged friend is the world’s largest entirely aquatic frog.

Lake Tititcaca water frog. Image Source.

Meet Telmatobius culeus, commonly known as the Titicaca water frog. Lake Titicaca, which gives these frogs their name, is in the Andes mountains on the border of Peru and Bolivia. This is the only lake in the world where these frogs reside. At 12,500 feet above sea-level, Lake Titicaca has very little oxygen compared to most freshwater lakes. This presents a unique challenge to which this frog is perfectly adapted. While I would have to breathe underwater through an oxygen tank, the Titicaca water frog uses its excessive skin flaps. The copious folds of skin around the frog allow it to gather more oxygen from the water. There is even a special maneuver the frog can employ if oxygen gets too low. By doing underwater “push-ups“, the frog increases water flow over its skin, increasing the amount of oxygen it absorbs.

The Titicaca water frog can grow up to 20 inches long and weigh up to 2 pounds. It eats a fairly normal frog diet, such as snails, worms, and small fish or bugs. Unfortunately for these amphibians, they also end up in human diets. The frogs, when blended with other ingredients into a juice, are thought to be a delicacy and cure-all by local Andean cultures. This video shows the process of creating Titicaca water frog juice, but as a warning, it does show a live frog being used. Extensive human harvesting, combined with pollution from mining operations and sewage, have caused the frog’s population to plummet. The population of Titicaca water frogs is thought to have declined around 80-90% in fifteen years. This has led the IUCN Red List to categorize the species as endangered and decreasing.

Their excessive skin helps absorb oxygen. Image Source.

The outlook is not all bad for these frogs. Recently, an international group of scientists have begun a project to help save them. The experts plan to study the habitat and populations of the frogs still left in Lake Titicaca in order to better understand how to preserve the species. While no one knows what may happen to the Titicaca water frog in the future, there is still time to protect and save endangered species like this with our actions in the present.

Cover Image Source.