Added 1 April 2026.
The Family Conrauidae contains a single genus, Conraua. These are among the biggest frogs in the world. They are found in west and northeast Africa. In addition to those listed here, there are believed to be more cryptic forms as yet undescribed.
Nieden characterised the genus as follows: pectoral girdle of the firmisternal type; sacral vertebrae not broadened; maxillary teeth present; no intermediate cuneiform between the distal phalanges; omosternum and sternum well developed, both with bony peduncles; webbing between the outer metatarsals continued; pupils horizontal; vomerine teeth very weakly developed; tongue not emarginate posteriorly. Channing and Rödel note that they are found in slow- to fast-moving forest streams at various altitudes. They are also extremely slippery, as the common names of some of the species indicate.
Several of the species listed here are considered vulnerable or endangered, having relatively small ranges, as well as being liable to hunting for bushmeat and suffering habitat destruction.
Although these frogs may look like suitable candidates for captivity, in fact it seems that this is not so. They are reportedly shy and nervous in captivity, and also suffer from parasites. Export of these species has understandably been restricted. Those that are available should be left to experienced specialists who can initiate captive breeding programmes.
Dr Fritz Nieden named the genus after the German trader and explorer Gustav Conrau in honour of his services in the collection of Cameroon amphibians.
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QUICK INDEX |
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C. alleni, Allen's Slippery Frog, Allen's Giant Frog |
C. beccarii, Beccari’s Giant Frog |
C. crassipes, Thick-Legged Giant Frog |
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C, derooi, De Roo’s Giant Frog |
C. goliath, Goliath Frog, Giant Slippery Frog, Goliath Bullfrog |
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C. robusta, Robust Giant Frog, Cameroon Slippery Frog |
C. sagyimase, Atewa Slippery Frog |
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Scientific Name |
Common Name |
Distribution |
Size |
Notes |
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Family CONRAUIDAE |
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Conraua |
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Allen's Slippery Frog, Allen's Giant Frog |
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TL approx 6.5 cm (m), 6 cm (f) |
Described as a separate species in 2017. |
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Beccari's Giant Frog |
Eritrea, Ethiopia |
TL 15.5 cm |
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Thick-Legged Giant Frog |
Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea inc. Bioke Island, Gabon, Congo-Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of the Congo, |
TL approx 8 cm (m), 7.5 cm (f) |
Description: vomerine teeth in two very small groups close to the inner front edge of the choanae; two slight bony prominences in front of the lower jaw. Habit stout. Head moderate; snout very short, slightly pointed; canthus rostralis rounded; eyes very prominent; interorbital space half the width of the upper eyelid; tympanum hidden, two thirds the size of the eye. Fingers rather short, pointed, first shorter than second ; toes short, fourth not very much longer than third and fifth, slightly dilated at the tips, very broadly webbed; subarticular tubercles of fingers and toes very small; a scarcely prominent, oval, inner metatarsal tubercle. The hind limb being carried forwards along the body, the tibio-tarsal articulation reaches the eye. Skin smooth; a transverse fold uniting the hinder edges of the upper eyelids; a stronger fold from the eye to the arm. Coloration: uniform brown, lighter beneath. Male without vocal sac. [SOURCE: Boulenger] |
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De Roo's Giant Frog |
Togo, Ghana |
TL approx 8-8.5 cm |
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Goliath Frog, Giant Slippery Frog, Goliath Bullfrog |
SW Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea |
TL 34 cm (m), 22 cm (f) |
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Guinea |
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Described as a new species in 2022: see article. |
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Robust Giant Frog, Cameroon Slippery Frog |
Nigeria, W Cameroon |
TL approx 14 cm (m), 12 cm (f) |
Description: vomerine teeth in a very weakly developed small group on the inner margin of the choanae, from where a faint ridge can be traced inwards and backwards, perhaps indicating that vomer teeth are normally more developed in this species. — Tongue entire, not notched posteriorly, oval, free posteriorly and laterally. Head large, wider than long. Snout the length of the eye diameter, blunt. Rostral canthus indistinct, loin region depressed; nostrils approximately midway between eye and snout tip. Interorbital space wider than the upper eyelid. Tympanum concealed beneath the skin. — Fingers slender, only slightly broadened at the tips, first finger considerably shorter than the second, fourth almost as long as the third, with a distinct subarticular tubercle only below the joint between metacarpus and first phalanx. — Toes broadened at the tips into large discs. All toes webbed up to the adhesive disc; a large, flat subarticular tubercle is present only below the joint between the metatarsus and the first phalanx. A broad inner metatarsal tubercle, more than half the length of the inner toe, extends from its proximal end along the tarsus for about one-third of its length. A prominent skin fold is present on the outer side of the fifth toe, and a weaker one on the inner side of the first toe. With the hind leg folded forward, the tibiotarsal joint extends between the eye and the tip of the snout. The underside is smooth, the back covered with numerous densely packed, irregular, glandular tubercles; these extend anteriorly to a distinct skin fold running from the upper eyelid above the tympanic membrane to the shoulder; they also cover the posterior third of the upper eyelid and, at the level of their foremost point, terminate on the interorbital space at a sharp transverse line. The entire front of the head and its lateral surfaces up to the aforementioned skin fold above the tympanum are only weakly glandular. On the limbs, mostly small individual glands of varying sizes are connected by weak skin folds to form distinct longitudinal rows. Coloration: dorsal surface brown, with irregular dark spots that are more prominent on the limbs. Throat and chest dirty brown, belly and underside of the limbs whitish. [SOURCE: Nieden] |
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Atewa Slippery Frog |
Ghana |
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Described as a new species in 2021: see article. |
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“Die Amphibienfauna von Kamerun”, Dr Fritz Nieden, 1908, Mitteilungen aus dem Zoologischen Museum in Berlin 3, 489–518.
“A new slippery frog (Amphibia, Conrauidae, Conraua Nieden, 1908) from the Fouta Dyallon Highlands, west-central Guinea”, Karla Neira-Salamea, Joseph Doumbia, Annika Hillers, Laura Sandberger-Loua, N’Goran G. Kouamé, Christian Brede, Marvin Schäfer, David C. Blackburn, Michael F. Barej, Mark-Oliver Rödel, Zoosyst. Evol. 98(1), 2022. Describes C. kamancamarai.