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The Night Spirit Frog (Leptopelis spiritusnoctis) is considered Ghana’s most beloved frog. For many artists and nature lovers in Ghana and around the world, it represents the beauty of nature, thanks to its distinctively large silver-grey eyes—just one of the many features that make it truly adorable.
🌙 A Name Inspired by the Night
The species name spiritusnoctis comes from two Latin words:
🔹 spiritus – meaning soul or spirit
🔹 noctis – meaning night
As its name suggests, this nocturnal frog is mostly active at night, producing a soft, whispering buzz that sounds like it’s wooing the forest.
🌿 Where Does the Night Spirit Frog Live?
This frog thrives in equatorial evergreen and semi-deciduous forests, particularly within Ghana’s forest belt and other parts of West Africa as far as Nigeria’s Niger Delta.
In September 2016, for the first time, SAVE THE FROGS! Ghana recorded the species along the Wewe River at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi—the site of an ongoing habitat restoration project led by the SAVE THE FROGS! KNUST Chapter.
🎨 Why Is It So Special?
✔️ Color: Light brown to dark chocolate brown (while tadpoles are nearly black).
✔️ Size: Small, about the length of a thumb—earning it the nickname “lady” among local frog enthusiasts.
✔️ Habitat: Prefers moist areas along streams and riverbanks, breeding in small puddles and temporary ponds.
⚠️ Threats to the Night Spirit Frog
Like many amphibians, the Night Spirit Frog is severely threatened by habitat loss.
🚨 90% of its Wewe River habitat at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi has already disappeared—along with possibly thousands of Night Spirit Frogs.
🚨 The species is also believed to be captured for the pet trade, but further monitoring is needed to assess the extent of this threat.
Urgent conservation efforts are needed to protect this unique and beautiful frog before it vanishes forever.
👉 Discover more amazing Ghanaian amphibians here!
