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

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of frog in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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-like ...

. The species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

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

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of 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 the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

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

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

s, passerine birds, snakes,

lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

s, and other

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

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 animal, wild species rather than as a Domesticated animal, domesticated pet. The definition varies by culture, location, and over time—as an ...

. The nickname "pacman frog" is a reference to the popular 1980's arcade game ''

Pac-Man ''Pac-Man,'' originally called in Japan, is a 1980 maze video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. The pla ...

'', 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 SVL and the males to SVL. 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 red with dark markings do 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. Argentine horned frogs have fat bodies that they can draw on as an emergency food source during the dry season or when food is scarce. Their heavy bodies allow the animal to remain anchored while taking on larger prey items. In the wild, their typical diet would include rodents such as mice, passerine birds, small reptiles, other frogs, large spiders, and insects such as locusts. Horned frogs are well known for their fearless reputation. They will attempt to consume animals, sometimes equal to or greater than their size. 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 the bottom and upper jaw. A bite from an Argentine horned frog can be painful and may require medical attention. Sometimes they will even jump toward their attacker, no matter their size and power. In captivity, these frogs' natural diet is fairly easy to recreate. When kept as a pet, the horned frogs are usually fed a staple diet of calcium-dusted crickets when young and night crawlers as well as the occasional mouse as an adult; they also enjoy – depending on size – live fish. However, studies have proven that primarily feeding 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. A male Argentinian frog will use its nuptial pads to grasp the female while the eggs are fertilized.

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. File:Argentine Horned Frog (Ceratophrys ornata)1.JPG, An Argentine horned frog File:Ceratophrys ornata in Prague Zoo.JPG, At

Prague Zoo Prague Zoological Garden (Czech: ''Zoologická zahrada hl. m. Prahy'') is a zoo in Prague, Czech Republic. It was opened in 1931 with the goal to "advance the study of zoology, protect wildlife, and educate the public" in the district of Troja (Pra ...

Description

Feeding

Reproduction

Gallery

References

Further reading