Animal profile

Titicaca Water Frog

Telmatobius culeus

AmphibiaCold high-altitude lake water at around 3,800 metres elevationEndangered

Field profile

A fully aquatic frog notable for extensive baggy folds of loose skin. It lives in a single cold high-altitude lake and never leaves the water. Harvesting for frog juice, pollution and introduced trout have driven steep declines.

Published field notes

2024-01-06

Titicaca Water Frog

Its loose skin folds are extra breathing surface

Living in cold water at 3,800 metres, this frog barely uses its small lungs. The baggy folds hanging from its body enlarge the skin surface for taking oxygen directly from the lake.

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