This small and powerful amphibian is part of a family that goes back 70 to 80 million years, to the time of the dinosaurs. The Togo slippery frog ranks 18th in the hundred most genetically distinct and critically endangered in the world: It is as different from other amphibians as humans are from pigs. Although its name implies that it lives in the country of Togo, it’s also found in Ghana.

The Togo slippery frog is found solely along the border of Ghana and Togo, in the lush highlands of the Togo-Volta region. The frog spends most of its life in or near clean, fast-running bodies of water, such as waterfalls and streams. It is an aquatic creature;