Mean Green Eating Machine

Part of the Frogs: A Chorus of Colors exhibition.

African bullfrogs grow up to 8 inches in diameter and eat almost anything that moves. They are able to live without food or water for months by digging underground. When the rains arrive, they emerge to eat and mate. The male guards the tadpoles, which swim around him for protection. While protecting the swimming tadpoles, he also feeds on them. After metamorphosis, froglets often eat their smaller siblings.

afri_bullfrog_med.jpg

© John Netherton, Clyde Peeling's Reptiland

African Bullfrog

Pyxicephalus adspersus

Class: Amphibia
Family: Pyxicephalidae
Size: Up to 8 inches in diameter
Food: Insects, reptiles, small mammals, other frogs
Range: Most of sub-Saharan Africa
Habitat: On the ground, anywhere water is likely to collect during a summer rain
Life Cycle: Females lay up to 4,000 eggs that hatch and develop into froglets 18 days later.