Southern Gastric Brooding Frog

Southern Gastric Brooding Frog
Rheobatrachus silus

This amazing frog was only discovered in the 1970s. However, it mysteriously disappeared only a decade later, possibly due to disease. Females of the species were ‘gastric brooders’, which means they swallow their fertilised eggs and allow them to develop in their stomachs. During this time, the female’s digestive process would shut down. After about six or seven weeks, up to 25 baby frogs would emerge through the female’s mouth. Four days later the female’s digestive tract would return to normal.

Extinct, previously found in Blackall and Conondale Ranges in south-eastern Queensland