Skip to main content

African Bullfrog

Pyxicephalus adspersus
Happy Leap Day! To celebrate, let's learn about one of my favorite "leapers," the monstrous and voracious African Bullfrog!

These frogs are some of the largest in the world, with some males weighing up to 4.5lbs! Males are larger than females, a trait that is not especially common among frogs (females are often larger). Regardless of sex, African Bullfrogs have broad bodies, short snouts, and a dull green coloration. They also have teeth in their lower jaw!

African Bullfrogs are very, very aggressive, especially when it comes time to mate. Males can get incredibly territorial, both before and after mating. Once the females lay their eggs (up to 4,000 of them!) the males stick around to guard them, fighting off any attackers. Unfortunately, the mortality rate for the young frogs is very high. Only 20% of all females will reach adulthood.

I mentioned earlier that African Bullfrogs are voracious. They will eat just about anything that they can fit in their mouth, from small insects, to mice, to birds, and even other frogs! They use those lower jaw teeth to grab on to struggling prey.

One final fact that I found really interesting is that African Bullfrogs hibernate.... but not in the way one normally thinks of. Instead of hibernating during the cold winters, they hibernate during the hot, dry summers. They burrow deep down into the soil and then develop a watertight cocoon made from dead skin. This enables them to retain fluids and not dry out during this troublesome season.



IUCN Status : Least Concern
Location : Africa
Size : Length up to 9.5in (24cm), Weight up to 4.5lbs (2kg)
Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Amphibia -- Order : Anura
Family : Ranidae -- Genus : Pyxicephalus -- Species : P. adspersus

Comments

  1. They are huge. My father put his foot out towards one and it took most of his foot into its mouth. We all got a bit of a fright, but the shoe saved the foot and the bullfrog obviously did not like the taste of shoe!! Diane

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a good idea the hibernation during hot, dry summers! Love animals, such a great teachers.
    By the way, fabulous blog!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bornean Orangutan

The Bornean Orangutan is one of two extant Orangutan species in the world. It is the third largest primate (after Gorillas) and is the largest primarily tree-dwelling animal in the world. Males are substantially larger than females, and average at around 165lbs. Bornean Orangutans are largely solitary. A handful might live within a small range but they will seldom interact with one another. Males and females only meet up to breed, which happens only once every several years. A young Orangutan will stay with it's mother for about five years, and the females tend to go about eight years between births. That is the longest interim period of any animal! Sadly, the Bornean Orangutans are in a lot of trouble. They need large forests in order to thrive, and deforestation and habitat degradation has left many homeless. They are also hunted for meat and for traditional medicines. Conservation areas are being established to help these guys in the wild, and it is believed that there are a

Four!

For anyone who was counting, yesterday was our birthday-- four years! Four years filled with animals from A to Z, more than 1,100 of them! I can't thank my readers enough, it's been wonderful! And in celebration of that milestone... I'm taking a break. Hopefully not forever, but for a little bit at least. In the mean time I plan on getting a new layout out, along with some updates to some of the older articles. I'll post updates here and on the Facebook page, I'm also brainstorming some new animal-related projects, so keep an eye out! Thanks again for four awesome years!

Halloween Crab

Gecarcinus quadratus The Halloween Crab goes by many names, including the Red Land Crab, Whitespot Crab, and Moon Crab. I personally like Halloween Crab though, since it really reflects the interesting colors. They have black carapaces, orange-red legs, and purple claws! Halloween Crabs live in the Pacific coast mangroves and forests of Central and South America. They actually live in the forests as adults, and return to the ocean in order to reproduce. Did you know that they live as far away as 18 miles (30km)  from water? Not where you normally think Crabs to be! While living in the forest, the Crabs forage nocturnally for different plant matter, including leaves and sapling. They also dig long burrows into the ground for protection. These burrows can measure nearly 5 ft long! Halloween Crabs are sometimes kept in captivity, and can be very tricky pets due to their excellent climbing skills. IUCN Status :  Not Listed Location :   Cent