(CNN) Frogs are slimy, noisy and often colorful. But what about freakishly strong, helicopter parents?

New research shows that Goliath frogs -- the world's largest frog species, found in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea -- build ponds for their eggs and tadpoles, moving rocks more than half of their body weight in the process.

A team of researchers from Cameroon and Germany studied the animals, which can weigh up to 6.6 pounds and measure more than 13 inches in length -- excluding their legs -- when fully grown.

The heavy labor that the frogs do could explain their size, scientists believe.

The researchers, led by a team from Berlin's Natural History Museum (Museum für Naturkunde), found that the frogs altered existing natural ponds or created new nests in small ponds, about 3 feet wide and 4 inches deep, along riverbanks in Cameroon.

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