Amazon Horned Frog

Amazon Horned Frogs are a very large species of frog native to the Amazon Rain Forest that can grow to lengths of up to eight inches. On top of that, they have very round, large bodies that are obtained by having voracious appetites. They will eat just about anything that is smaller than them in size, which includes quite a few different species including their own. Their taste is so indiscriminate that they will sometimes try and eat things that are simply too large to swallow, causing them to unfortunately choke and die.

Amazon Horned Frogs (Ceratophrys cornuta) do their hunting by literally burying burying themselves into the substrate on the forest floor, leaving only their head out. They are then able to ambush any prey that strolls on by. The coloration of the Horned Frog helps to camouflage them, and it is believed that their "horns" also aid to disguise them among the leaves. Amazon Horned Frogs are also extremely territorial.

Females are slightly larger than the males, though it is the male that initiates mating through a series of calls. Over 1,000 eggs are laid at a tine, wound around underwater plants. They are then left completely alone to hatch and grow up.

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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!

Banggai Cardinalfish

Pterapogon kauderni The Banggai Cardinalfish is a small tropical fish that is becoming very rare in the wild, even though it has been successfully bred in captivity. You will only find these small, 3in long fish around the Banggai Islands of Indonesia. They are the only members of their genus, and you can tell them apart from other Cardinalfish by their three-striped bodies, tasseled first dorsal fin, long second dorsal, and their deep-forked tail fins. Banggai Cardinalfish are diurnal and live in small groups of about a dozen members. They are opportunistic feeders who dine on whatever smaller plants and animals they can find. Courtship and mating is pretty interesting for these guys-- females are the ones who initiate. They isolate a male and the pair will perform various courtship rituals before spawning. The Cardinalfish are mouthbrooders, which means that the males take the fertilized eggs (up to 90 of them) into their mouths and incubate them for up to 30 days. During t...

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