Titicaca Water Frog
Telmatobius culeus
The Titicaca water frog lives solely in the depths of Lake Titicaca in the Andes mountains at elevations of 3,810 metres (12,500 feet). Its copious skin folds allow it to breathe — through cutaneous respiration (skin breathing) — at such high altitudes, its lungs are only 1/3 the size they should be.
The Skin-Breathing “Scrotum Frog”
Lake Titicaca, one of South America’s largest lakes, on the border between Peru and Bolivia.
This amphibian’s excessively baggy and loose, but vitally important, skin has landed it the unfortunate colloquial name of "scrotum frog". The copious folds increase the surface area of the frog, allowing it to more efficiently exchange gases through its skin — making its lungs all but unnecessary. It’s skin is also thinner than that of other frogs, allowing for even easier respiration. The folds look swollen because they're filled with fluids, but if deflated, the frog itself is pretty thin. But that doesn’t mean that it's small. A particularly hefty individual was recorded to be 60 centimetres (2 ft) when outstretched and weighed 1 kg (2.2 lb) — making it the largest recorded species of fully aquatic frog in the world. A more typical size is quite a bit smaller but still large, as far as frogs go.
This alpine amphibian lives its entire life in the Lake Titicaca basin, which lies some 3,810 metres (12,500 ft) above sea level. Juvenile frogs usually stick to the shallows but adult frogs prefer the depths, most comfortable around 10 metres (33 ft), but their prints have been seen on the lake floor at a depth of 120 m (400 ft); the record depth of any frog species. Solitary and most often nocturnally active, this frog doesn’t appear much at the lake's surface — it's more likely to be seen resting with its buddies on the muddy lake bottom or trying to gobble up snails or amphipods (small shrimp-like crustaceans). And despite rarely leaving the lake floor, it’s able to achieve effective respiration, i.e. it can breathe: it stands with all limbs spread to maximise surface area and pushes itself off the floor repeatedly, essentially doing underwater push-ups, which lifts its folds and breaks the boundary layer of water, resulting in better gas exchange.
Poison Lakes & "Frog-Juice Bars"
The Titicaca water frog is endemic to Lake Titicaca and is considered ‘Endangered’.
While I'd hesitant to call this frog charismatic, it's certainly a unique animal — which has undoubtedly caught the attention of the internet (for good or ill). But its status as a living species is in great danger. Considered endangered, the species has seen an 80% decline between 1994 to 2004. In 2016, more than 10,000 of these frogs washed up dead on the shores of the lake. Investigations revealed copious amounts of sludge and waste in the water — pollutants are believed to have taken the lives of these frogs, as their skin folds effectively "absorbed" the contents of the surrounding water, poisoning them with every “breathe”. A population count is difficult to make due to the frog's muddy, lake bottom dwelling, which makes it difficult to monitor exactly how poorly the species is faring.
One particularly stomach-churning business practice is the production and sale of "frog juice". The Titicaca water frog is captured and brought to cities in Peru, such as the capital Lima, where they are sold to "frog-juice bars" (for only 30 cents for five frogs in some cases). The frogs are skinned and, while raw, thrown into a blender with other ingredients like roots and honey. This frothing green abomination of a smoothie is most commonly referred to as an aphrodisiac but — like so many of these bogus "medicines" that use animal parts — it is also thought to impart many other health benefits; said to cure anything from asthma to osteoporosis. Obviously, and this is critical, there is absolutely zero scientific evidence that this raw-frog concoction has any such effects. People are capturing this one-of-a-kind, endangered animal and drinking its skinned, blended body for absolutely no reason.
Saving the Titicaca Frog
The body of a Titicaca water frog with its copious skin folds that allow for more effective cutaneous respiration, a.k.a. skin breathing.
Despite the existence of frog juice, the attitude of many Peruvians towards this frog is quite positive — many see it as a symbol of the lake and country, proud to have this unique animal living within their borders. A group of Peruvian women, some of whom used to be poachers, now knit handmade crafts that depict these frogs and selling them to visitors to raise awareness for the flabby frogs. The Peruvian and Bolivian governments have both begun to step up to protect these frogs; raising national awareness for these amphibians, busting poachers, and installing water treatment facilities. The supporting efforts of zoos around the world (such as Denver Zoo) only go to show the far reach of this strange-looking frog’s charisma. Found only in one lake, dependent on the continued health of its one home, with a unique physiology that makes it particularly vulnerable to pollution, and carrying an erroneous association with medicinal benefits (in the form of juice), this frog has many hurdles to overcome in its struggle for survival. But it also has many allies. I think this fully aquatic, mountain-dwelling, loose-skinned, scrotal frog has its own special kind of charm to it, and the planet would only be poorer for its absence.
Where Does It Live?
⛰️ Juveniles prefer shallow water while adults stay on the muddy lake floor.
📍 Endemic to Lake Titicaca, on the border of Peru and Bolivia.
‘Endangered’ as of 25 September, 2019.
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Size // Small
Length // 20 cm (8 in) head to rump, 60 cm (2 ft) when outstretched
Weight // Usually over 250g (8.8oz), as much as 1 kg (2.2 lb)
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Activity: Nocturnal 🌙
Lifestyle: Solitary 👤
Lifespan: 4 and 15 years (in the wild)
Diet: Carnivore
Favorite Food: Amphipods, worms, insects, snails and fish 🦐
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Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Telmatobiidae
Genus: Telmatobius
Species: T. culeus
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The only natural habitat of the Titicaca water frog is Lake Titicaca; some 3,810 metres (12,500 ft) up in the Andes on the border between Peru and Bolivia, it is one of the largest (either first or second) lakes in South America.
Juvenile frogs usually like to stick to the shallow, but adult frogs prefer the depths, most comfortable around 10 metres (33 ft) but their prints have been seen on the lake floor at a depth of 120 m (400 ft) — the record depth of any frog species.
This frog rarely comes to the surface to breathe — when it does, it pokes its nostrils above the surface and breathes into its small lungs. Usually, though, it remains on the lake floor, using its skin to respire almost like a fish's gills. To increase gas exchange it spreads its limbs wide and pushes or hops up into the water column, breaking the boundary between the water and its skin as its skin-folds wave and ripple on the way down.
The Titicaca water frog has the lowest metabolic demand of any anuran (the frog order, which contains more than 7,000 species).
The largest adult Titicaca water frog weighed about 1 kg (2.2 lb) and, when outstretched, measured 60 cm (2 ft) long — making it the world's largest fully aquatic frog.
This frog breeds once per season, lays a clutch of around 500 eggs, and has a generational time of around 5 years. It's believed to put in no parental investment beyond fertilising/laying its eggs.
Considered 'critically endangered' this frog species is the most endangered amphibian in Bolivia. Given its habits and habitat, it's difficult to estimate the number of individuals alive today.
In 2016, 10,000 Titicaca water frogs washed up dead along a 50-km (30-mile) stretch of the Coata River, due to pollutants.
Not only is this frog threatened by pollutants in its lake, as well as invasive trout, but it's also poached for use in "frog juice" that is purported (with no evidence) to be an aphrodisiac.
