Intro
The Ornate Horned Frog lives in ponds in the grasslands of Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil. It can be up to 6 inches long, and has a very flat body. It has green skin with black blotches that provide excellent camouflage, and skin folds that look like horns all over its body. The females are much larger than males, but the females cannot make any noises, while males can make many interesting calls.
The Ornate Horned Frog lives in ponds in the grasslands of Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil. It can be up to 6 inches long, and has a very flat body. It has green skin with black blotches that provide excellent camouflage, and skin folds that look like horns all over its body. The females are much larger than males, but the females cannot make any noises, while males can make many interesting calls.
Catching The Prey
The Ornate Horned Frog gets its food by a sit-and-wait method. It will eat anything that passes by, including insects, rodents, lizards, and other frogs. Its green or brown coloring camouflages it perfectly in the grass land, so prey such as mice will walk right past it, unaware of the coming ambush. Once the prey is nearby, the frog snaps with its huge mouth and catches its prey. The Ornate Horned Frog is nicknamed the "Pacman Frog" because of the way it snatches its food. It does not have teeth, so it suffocates the animal. Once the animal is dead, the frog will swallow it whole. It actually pushes its eyeballs into its head to create enough pressure in the mouth to swallow. You can watch a video of it below.
The Ornate Horned Frog gets its food by a sit-and-wait method. It will eat anything that passes by, including insects, rodents, lizards, and other frogs. Its green or brown coloring camouflages it perfectly in the grass land, so prey such as mice will walk right past it, unaware of the coming ambush. Once the prey is nearby, the frog snaps with its huge mouth and catches its prey. The Ornate Horned Frog is nicknamed the "Pacman Frog" because of the way it snatches its food. It does not have teeth, so it suffocates the animal. Once the animal is dead, the frog will swallow it whole. It actually pushes its eyeballs into its head to create enough pressure in the mouth to swallow. You can watch a video of it below.
Reproduction and Natural Selection
The male Pacman frogs send out loud mating calls to attract the females, and to encourage other males during mating season. You can see a video of their beautiful mating call below. A few days after mating, the female will lay her eggs.
There is a lot of overproduction within this species, because the females can lay up to 2000 eggs at a time. The eggs become tadpoles in about two weeks. Competition between the individuals is fierce, even when they are tadpoles. The tadpoles are already carnivores, and will eat anything that moves, so many of them eat each other. They continue to be cannibals into adulthood.
Besides their own kind, Ornate Horned Frogs also have to watch out for other predators, like snakes, gray foxes, and predatory birds. Humans are also affecting these frogs directly and indirectly. Many people will take the Ornate-Horned Frogs as pets, which takes them away from their natural habitat. Humans also pollute the air and water they breathe, which is really hard on the frog's sensitive skin.
Natural selection will select the individuals that can snatch food the fastest, and camouflage the best in the rainforest to hide from predators and ambush prey, because its essential to their survival.
The male Pacman frogs send out loud mating calls to attract the females, and to encourage other males during mating season. You can see a video of their beautiful mating call below. A few days after mating, the female will lay her eggs.
There is a lot of overproduction within this species, because the females can lay up to 2000 eggs at a time. The eggs become tadpoles in about two weeks. Competition between the individuals is fierce, even when they are tadpoles. The tadpoles are already carnivores, and will eat anything that moves, so many of them eat each other. They continue to be cannibals into adulthood.
Besides their own kind, Ornate Horned Frogs also have to watch out for other predators, like snakes, gray foxes, and predatory birds. Humans are also affecting these frogs directly and indirectly. Many people will take the Ornate-Horned Frogs as pets, which takes them away from their natural habitat. Humans also pollute the air and water they breathe, which is really hard on the frog's sensitive skin.
Natural selection will select the individuals that can snatch food the fastest, and camouflage the best in the rainforest to hide from predators and ambush prey, because its essential to their survival.