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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
South
American ornate horned frog, horned frog, Pac Man
frog |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Amphibia |
| ORDER: |
Anura |
| FAMILY: |
Leptodactylidae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Ceratophrys
(horny skin) ornata (ornate) |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
Large,
fat frogs, often very colorful; usually green with
dark red to black markings along their back |
| FEMALE |
Females
slightly larger than males |
|
| SIZE: |
Snout
to vent length: 14 cm (5.5 in) |
|
| WEIGHT: |
Large
females may weigh up to 480 g (1 lb) |
|
| DIET: |
Large
insects, small vertebrates such as lizards, mice,
and other frogs (including their own species) |
|
| INCUBATION: |
At
optimal temperature, it takes only two weeks to
go from egg to tadpole to froglet |
| CLUTCH
SIZE |
Females
deposit 1,000-2,000 eggs in standing water |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
18-24
months |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
Average
6 years |
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| RANGE: |
Argentina,
Uruguay, Paraguay, and Brazil |
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| HABITAT: |
Burrows
in the leafy, muddy vegetation of tropical forest
floors |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
No
data |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Not
listed |
| CITES |
Not
listed |
| USFWS |
Not
listed |
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| 1. |
These
frogs are often called "mouths with legs"
because the mouth appears to be the entire front
half of the body. |
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| 2. |
The
common name, horned frog, comes from the folds of
skin that are located over its eyes. |
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| 3. |
As
an adult, the horned frog is a passive hunter that
waits for its food to come to it before attacking.
As a juvenile, they are very active feeders and
are cannibalistic. |
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| 4. |
This
species has vomerine teeth, or teeth on the roof
of its mouth, as well as around the outside of its
jaw. |
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| 5. |
Horned
frogs are usually diurnal; some may be crepuscular.
Like all frogs, they sleep with their eyes open.
Their skin is very sensitive, acting as a supplemental
breathing organ. The oils found on human skin can
be harmful to frog skin. |
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| 6. |
In
general, frogs have smooth skin while toads have
textured skin. |
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As
a small predator, one of the ornate frog's roles
is controlling populations of small animals. As
tadpoles and adults, horned frogs themselves are
a source of food for many other carnivores. Like
all amphibians, horned frogs have porous skin
and respond quickly to changes in the environment;
they are very sensitive to minute changes in the
ecosystem.
These
frogs are becoming more popular in scientific
embryological research. Researchers are able to
halt the development of the egg in different stages
of development in order to better understand cell
division.
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|
| |
|
|
| Conant
and Collins. Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern
and Central North America. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin Co., 1991. |
|
| De
Vosjoli, Philippe. The General Care and Maintenance
of Horned Frogs. California: Advanced Vivarium
Systems, 1989. |
|
|
Dickerson,
Mary. The Frog Book. New York: Dover Pub.
Inc., 1969.
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| Duellman
and Trueb. Biology of the Amphibians. Baltimore:
Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 1986. |
|
| Halliday,
Tim R. and Kraig Adler (eds.). The Encyclopedia
of Reptiles and Amphibians. New York: Facts
on File, 1987. |
|
| Mattison,
Chris. Frogs and Toads of the World. New
York: Facts of File, 1986. |
|
| Stebins
and Cohen. A Natural History of Amphibians.
1995. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New
Jersey. |
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