The frog that grows in the cracks of rocks in the mountains is called the Spiny-breasted Frog.

The spiny-breasted frog belongs to the frog family and lives in caves in rock streams. It likes to cling to rock walls, hide in caves during the day, and come out to look for food at night. They are big and fat, generally weighing three to four taels, with the big ones weighing about one kilogram. The meat is tender, as delicious as chicken, contains less fat and sugar, is cool in nature, rich in nutrients, and easy to digest. It is one of the "three stones" of Lushan Mountain.

The spiny-breasted frog is a rare delicacy that grows in the hilly and mountainous areas of the south. It is called the "King of Frogs" by gourmets because of its delicate meat and rich mineral content.

Life habits

The spiny-breasted frog is afraid of light and sound, has thick hind limbs, and has strong jumping ability, with a jumping height of up to 1 meter. In the evening, they climb out of the cave and look for food and play in the shrubs and grass on both sides of the mountain stream or on the hillside. They are extremely active. However, its activity range is not large, mostly 20-30 meters around the cave. It returns to the cave late at night. During the day, they usually lie down at the entrance of the cave, or lurk in the gaps between grass, gravel and stones, waiting for opportunities to catch nearby food.

In case of encountering enemies such as snakes or rats, or people, quickly retreat into the hole or dive into the water. Spiny-breasted frogs are very sensitive to changes in air and water temperature environments. On hot, dry nights with low air pressure, or before a storm comes, they will come out of their caves one after another and jump to higher rocks or hillsides, accompanied by low and majestic chirps. The activity of the spiny-breasted frog is closely related to its external environmental conditions, and changes in water temperature have a particularly obvious impact on it.

The water temperature is 18-28℃, activities and food intake are normal. If the water temperature exceeds 30°C, aestivation will occur. If the water temperature exceeds 36°C, abnormal activity will occur and even death will occur. At the end of autumn, when the water temperature drops below 15°C, it begins to hibernate. It does not move, eats, or hides in a cave with its eyes closed. To avoid bad environment. During hibernation, it mainly relies on nutrients stored in the body for extremely weak metabolism.

According to observations, hibernation usually begins after frost, and the water temperature (above 15°C) gradually recovers before and after the hibernation, and the hibernation period lasts for more than 100 days. During hibernation, if the weather is warm and the water temperature is higher than 15°C, some frogs will crouch at the entrance of the cave or jump out of the cave to move around. During hibernation, the spiny-breasted frog likes to live in deep pools in mountain streams or in caves by streams.

Reference for the above content: Baidu Encyclopedia - Spiny Breast Frog, Baidu Encyclopedia - Spiny Breast Frog