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 of frog in the familyCeratophryidae. The species is endemic to South America. It is the most common species of horned frog, in the grasslands of Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. A voracious eater, it will attempt to swallow anything that moves close to its wide mouth, such as insects, rodents, lizards, and other frogs, even if this predator would suffocate in the process. It is also kept as an exotic pet. 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.
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.[1][2] 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.
Feedingedit
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, small reptiles, 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.[3]
Reproductionedit
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.
Galleryedit
A young Argentine pacman frog
Albino Argentine pacman frog, with brilliant yellow color
Argentine horned frog Ceratophrys ornata
1896 lithograph by R. A. Lydekker for The Royal Natural History
1885 lithograph by R. Mintern
Eye external features of a frog
A close-up of an adult male High Red Ornate Pacman Frog.
^Lock, Brad (8 August 2017). "Veterinary Partner". Vin.com.
Further readingedit
Bell T (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. ISBN978-1882770007.
Mattison, Chris (1987). Frogs and Toads of the World. New York: Facts on File. 191 pp. ISBN978-0816016020.
May 03, 2024
argentine, horned, frog, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Argentine horned frog news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2017 Learn how and when to remove this message This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations May 2017 Learn how and when to remove this message Learn how and when to remove this message 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 of frog in the family Ceratophryidae The species is endemic to South America It is the most common species of horned frog in the grasslands of Argentina Uruguay and Brazil A voracious eater it will attempt to swallow anything that moves close to its wide mouth such as insects rodents lizards and other frogs even if this predator would suffocate in the process It is also kept as an exotic pet 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 Argentine horned frog Conservation status Near Threatened IUCN 3 1 Scientific classification Domain Eukaryota Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Amphibia Order Anura Family Ceratophryidae Genus Ceratophrys Species C ornata Binomial name Ceratophrys ornata Bell 1843 Synonyms Uperodon ornatum Bell 1843 Ceratophrys ornata Gunther 1858 Contents 1 Description 2 Feeding 3 Reproduction 4 Gallery 5 References 6 Further readingDescription editThe 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 1 2 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 editAll 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 small reptiles 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 3 Reproduction editArgentine 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 edit nbsp A young Argentine pacman frog nbsp Albino Argentine pacman frog with brilliant yellow color nbsp Argentine horned frog Ceratophrys ornata nbsp 1896 lithograph by R A Lydekker for The Royal Natural History nbsp 1885 lithograph by R Mintern nbsp Eye external features of a frog nbsp A close up of an adult male High Red Ornate Pacman Frog nbsp An Argentine horned frog nbsp At Prague ZooReferences edit Argentinian Horned Frog Pacman Frog Ceratophrys ornata Archived 2007 05 19 at the Wayback Machine Common Frog Species Lock Brad 8 August 2017 Veterinary Partner Vin com Further reading editBell T 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 Gunther 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 ISBN 978 1882770007 Mattison Chris 1987 Frogs and Toads of the World New York Facts on File 191 pp ISBN 978 0816016020 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Argentine horned frog amp oldid 1217157894, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
