Latest update January 26th, 2025 8:45 AM
Latest News
- Oil money not guaranteed next year- VP Jagdeo
- APNU, AFC say committed to talks towards Coalition for 2025 elections
- Four Israeli soldiers, 200 Palestinians released under Gaza truce deal
- Stray dogs captured by police after killing sheep
- EPA, other Govt. agencies meet to address gas cylinder related explosions
The Suriname Horned Frog
The Suriname Horned Frog.
Kaieteur News – The first thing that stands out about the Suriname horned frog is its size. These rotund amphibians can grow to 8 inches in length and would cover a good-size tea saucer. They are found in freshwater marshes and pools throughout the Amazon Basin, from Colombia to Brazil.
Indiscriminate Feeding
Suriname horned frogs achieve their enormous girth by being generally indiscriminate about what they eat. Typical ambush predators, they squeeze their bodies into the forest substrate or leaf litter so only their heads protrude. When anything smaller than their own bodies happens by, they spring from the mud and swallow their prey whole, locking it in their jaws with their sharp teeth.
They are aggressively territorial and voracious to a fault. Some have been found dead in the wild with the remains of an impossible-to-ingest victim still protruding from their mouths. Their ravenous appetite and huge mouths have earned them and other horned frogs the pet-trade nickname “Pac Man frogs.”
Coloring and Camouflage
Females are generally larger than males, but males are more ornately colored, ranging from dark green to lime-colored. Females are usually tan. Scientists are unsure what purpose their namesake horns serve, but it is likely they aid in camouflage, resembling leaf stems in the wild.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
A comedy of evasiveness starring Jagdeo
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- Bharrat Jagdeo, Vice President of Guyana, is a man who revels in the art of evasion. He... more
OAS Secretary General Election and renewed OAS Consensus
Antiguan Barbudan Ambassador to the United States, Sir Ronald Sanders By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News- The upcoming election... more
Weekend Cartoon
