Rheobatrachus silus -- Southern Gastric Brooding Frog with baby in its mouth

The Southern Gastric Brooding frog lived exclusively in the rainforests of the Conondale and Blackall Ranges, northwest of Brisbane, Australia. These amazing frogs could actually shut down their gastric juices while rearing their young inside their stomachs! They therefore held great promise for advances in human medicine, as research on these frogs may have resulted in a cure for ulcers. Unfortunately, the gastric-brooding frogs vanished within a few years of being discovered by scientists. The health of humans and frogs is clearly intertwined.

Here you can see a tiny froglet emerging from its mother's mouth.

Photo is by D. Sarille.
Text by Kerry Kriger