Alsco Long-fingered Frog

The Alsco Long-fingered Frog gets its peculiar name from the American company Alsco who funded the expedition that led to the discovery of the Alsco Long-fingered Frog. Alsco Long-fingered Frog can be found on Mount Tchabal Mbabo in western Cameroon and is believed to be distributed in small but very dense fragmented groups. Due to loss of habitat in the area the Alsco Long-fingered Frog is currently listed as critically endangered and with the small populations being so condensed forest fires are a real threat.

On Mount Tchbbal Mbabo the Alsco Long-fingered Frog is restricted to mountain slopes coated in dense forest although the favorite habitat of the Alsco Long-fingered Frog is gallery forests which accurately describes all the forests of Mount Tchabal Mbabo. These gallery forests are remnants of much larger forests that have been decimated by forest fires and usually the survival of the existing trees is down to location, with streams often present and steep slopes surrounding the forest areas.

Within these hard to reach forest lands the Alsco Long-fingered Frog can be found near water such as streams and around shallow pools with large rocks where there is plenty of options for hiding and keeping themselves from losing too much moisture.

Alsco Long-fingered Frog

The Alsco Long-fingered Frog sports a variety of interesting colors from black and tan to purple and blue making them easy to recognize. Measuring ar around 30mm for a male and 34mm max for a female the Alsco Long-fingered Frog can be branded as a ‘medium’ sized from among other species and as the name suggests these unique frogs have a very long third finger on which is structured with small, almost teeth like spikes.

Not a great deal is known about the ecology of the Alsco Long-fingered Frog but it is thought that due to their location and habitat that after successful breeding tadpoles are deposited by the females in the small pools of water which line streams in their forest home. Its here that the young tadpoles will develop into full grown frogs.

It is known that Alsco Long-fingered Frog’s breed in the streams and then move to shallow pools to deposit the eggs which will soon be come tadpoles and it is believed that mating usually takes place throughout the dry season.