Amazon Horned Frog
The first thing that stands out about the Amazon horned frog is
its size. These rotund amphibians can grow to 8 inches (20 centimeters)
in length and would cover a good-size tea saucer. They are found in
freshwater marshes and pools throughout the Amazon Basin, from Colombia
to Brazil.
Amazon horned frogs achieve their enormous girth by
being generally indiscriminate about what they eat. Typical ambush
predators, they squeeze their bodies into the forest substrate or leaf
litter so only their heads protrude. When anything smaller than their
own bodies happens by, they spring from the mud and swallow their prey
whole, locking it in their jaws with their sharp teeth.
They are
aggressively territorial and voracious to a fault. Some have been found
dead in the wild with the remains of an impossible-to-ingest victim
still protruding from their mouths. Their ravenous appetite and huge
mouths have earned them and other horned frogs the pet-trade nickname
"Pac Man frogs."
Females are generally larger than males, but males are more ornately colored, ranging from dark green to lime-colored. Females are usually tan. Scientists are unsure what purpose their namesake horns serve, but it is likely they aid in camouflage, resembling leaf stems in the wild.
Amazon horned frogs achieve their enormous girth by
being generally indiscriminate about what they eat. Typical ambush
predators, they squeeze their bodies into the forest substrate or leaf
litter so only their heads protrude. When anything smaller than their
own bodies happens by, they spring from the mud and swallow their prey
whole, locking it in their jaws with their sharp teeth.
They are
aggressively territorial and voracious to a fault. Some have been found
dead in the wild with the remains of an impossible-to-ingest victim
still protruding from their mouths. Their ravenous appetite and huge
mouths have earned them and other horned frogs the pet-trade nickname
"Pac Man frogs."Females are generally larger than males, but males are more ornately colored, ranging from dark green to lime-colored. Females are usually tan. Scientists are unsure what purpose their namesake horns serve, but it is likely they aid in camouflage, resembling leaf stems in the wild.
