The Argentine horned frog (''Ceratophrys ornata''), also known as the Argentine wide-mouthed frog, ornate horned frog, ornate horned toad, or the ornate pacman frog, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of frog in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Ceratophryidae The Ceratophryidae, also known as common horned frogs, are a family of frogs found in South America. It is a relatively small family with three extant genera and 12 species. Despite the common name, not all species in the family have the horn-lik ...

. The species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

. It is the most common species of horned frog, in the grasslands of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. A voracious eater, it will attempt to swallow anything that moves close to its wide mouth, such as

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...

s, rodents, lizards, and other

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...

s, even if this predator would suffocate in the process. It is also kept as an

exotic pet An exotic pet is a pet which is relatively rare or unusual to keep, or is generally thought of as a wild species rather than as a domesticated pet. The definition varies by culture, location, and over time—as animals become firmly enough est ...

. The nickname "pacman frog" is a reference to the popular 1980's arcade game '' Pac-Man'', where Pac-Man himself eats quite a lot, and has a mouth that takes up most of its body, much like the Argentine horned frog.

Description

The females of ''C. ornata'' can grow to be 16.5 centimeters (6.5 inches) snout to vent (SV) and the males 11.5 centimeters (4.5 in) SV. The average lifespan is 6 to 7 years, however they can live up to 10 years or more in captivity. A horned frog's most prominent feature is its mouth, which accounts for roughly half of the animal's overall size. Coloration is typically bright green with red markings, though dark green, parti-color black and albino versions also exist. Sexing this species is very difficult before sexual maturity is reached. Dimorphism traits between the two sexes are size difference and males possessing dark pigmented throats and nuptial pads on the forelimbs.

Feeding

All horned frogs, species of the genus ''Ceratophrys'', hunt by remaining motionless, and waiting for prey. They will try to eat anything that can fit in their mouths, and some things that can't. In the wild, their typical diet would include rodents such as mice, small reptiles, as well as large spiders, and insects such as locusts. Horned frogs are well known for their fearless reputation. They will attempt to consume animals, sometimes even the size of themselves. If threatened by a larger animal such as a human, these frogs can deliver a painful bite as they have several odontoid projections (not teeth per se) along their bottom and top jaws. Sometimes they will even jump towards their attacker, no matter their size and power. However, in captivity these frogs' natural diet is fairly easy to recreate. When kept as a pet, the horned frogs are usually fed mainly on large adult locusts, black and brown crickets, and mice; they also enjoy – depending on size – live fish. However, studies have proven primarily feeding a horned frog mice causes fat build-up, which often results in blindness and death.

Reproduction

Argentine horned frogs reproduce sexually. The Argentine horned frog's females deposit about 2,000 eggs in water and within two weeks they become tadpoles.

Gallery

File:Chet Pac Man toad.jpg, A young Argentine pacman frog File:Pacman frog.jpg, Albino Argentine pacman frog, with brilliant yellow color File:Argentine.horned.frog.arp.jpg, Argentine horned frog ''Ceratophrys ornata'' File:CeratophrysOrnataLyd.jpg, 1896 lithograph by R. A. Lydekker for The Royal Natural History File:Ceratophrys ornata.jpg, 1885 lithograph by R. Mintern File:Horned frog.jpg, Eye external features of a frog File:Adult pacman frog.jpg, A close-up of an adult male High Red Ornate Pacman Frog.

References

(1843). ''The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, under the Command of Captain FitzRoy, R.N., during the Years 1832 to 1836. Part V. Reptiles.'' London: Smith, Elder and Co. vi + 51 pp. + Plates I-XX. (''Uperodon ornatum'', new species, pp. 50–51 + Plate XX, figure 6). (in English and Latin). * Boulenger GA (1882). ''Catalogue of the Batrachia Salientia s. Ecaudata in the Collection of the British Museum. Second Edition.'' London: Trustees of the British Museum. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xvi + 503 pp. + Plates I-XXX. (''Ceratophrys ornata'', pp. 225–226). * Günther A (1858). ''Catalogue of the Batrachia Salientia in the Collection of the British Museum.'' London: Trustees of the British Museum. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xvi + 160 pp. + Plates I-XII. (''Ceratophrys ornata'', pp. 25–26). *Kobasa, Paul A., editor-in-chief (2006). "Argentine horned frog." ''The World Book Encyclopedia, Volume 1''. Chicago: World Book, Inc. (p. 275). *De Vosjoli, Philippe (1990). ''The General Care and Maintenance of Horned Frogs''. Mission Viejo, California: Advanced Vivarium Systems. 32 pp. . *Mattison, Chris (1987). ''Frogs and Toads of the World''. New York: Facts on File. 191 pp. . {{Taxonbar, from=Q954868 Ceratophrys Amphibians of Argentina Amphibians of Brazil Amphibians of Uruguay Amphibians described in 1843 Taxa named by Thomas Bell (zoologist)

Description

Feeding

Reproduction

Gallery

References

Further reading