''Ceratophrys'' is a genus of frogs in the family Ceratophryidae. They are also known as South American horned frogs as well as Pacman frogs due to their characteristic round shape and large mouth, reminiscent of the video game character

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

Species

There are eight species:

Sex differentiation

The female frog will typically not "chirp" or "croak" as often as males, but does sometimes. Males frequently have spotted chests, and at about a year old the males develop spots on their "pads" or "fingers." Males will also sometimes have subtle pads on their front legs during mating season, as well as making a sound similar to a cicada to call to their mates. The female frog is also generally larger than the male frog.

Care in captivity

In captivity, ''C. cranwelli'', ''C. ornata'' and ''C. cornuta'' are the most popular species, along with the "fantasy frog", a captive-produced hybrid between ''C. cranwelli'' and ''C. cornuta''. These frogs can live in a 10-gallon aquarium for their entire lives. They thrive best with a shallow bowl of water, loose moist substrate (like coco coir), and hiding places. They will commonly cover themselves with substrate or just sit contentedly in the water. These frogs should be misted daily to ensure proper humidity. Temperatures should be maintained between 75° and 80° Fahrenheit (24° to 27° Celsius) during the day, dropping a few degrees at night. They can be fed

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

earthworms An earthworm is a terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. They exhibit a tube-within-a-tube body plan; they are externally segmented with corresponding internal segmentation; and they usually have setae on all segments. Th ...

, silkworms,

phoenix worms ''Hermetia illucens'', the black soldier fly, is a common and widespread fly of the family Stratiomyidae. Distribution This species is native to the Neotropical realm, but in recent decades has spread across all continents, becoming virtually ...

butterworms The Chilean moth (''Chilecomadia moorei'') is a moth of the family Cossidae. The butterworm is the larval form and is commonly used as fishing bait in South America."The Incredible Edible Worm", by Audrey Pavia, ''Reptiles Magazine'', July, 2007 ...

, and occasionally guppies,

mice A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

, and waxworms.

Mealworms Mealworms are the larval form of the yellow mealworm beetle, ''Tenebrio molitor'', a species of darkling beetle. Like all holometabolic insects, they go through four life stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Larvae typically measure about or ...

and

superworms ''Zophobas morio'' is a species of darkling beetle, whose larvae are known by the common name superworm, kingworm, morio worm or simply Zophobas. Superworms are common in the reptile pet industry as food, along with giant mealworms, which are '' ...

should not be fed to them, due to their hard chitinous shell.

Lifespan

The average lifespan of a ''Ceratophrys'' frog in the wild varies between 1 and 4 years, though in captivity and as pets, depending on diet and care, they may live 6 to 10 years and even longer.

Diet

They are voracious eaters, often eating insects, small mammals (such as

), fish, other frogs, and small

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

s. A fully grown female Argentine Horned Frog (females are generally larger than males) can easily eat a grown

rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' ( pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...

. These frogs are also known to be cannibalistic, and have been known to eat their mates, even if they are larger than they are. It is advisable to isolate multiple frogs. Although these frogs can swallow animals almost half their size, they sometimes attempt to eat things larger than they are. Their teeth, as well as bony projections in the front of the jaw, can make it difficult for them to release prey after taking it in their mouth, in some cases leading to death by choking. They have a very sticky tongue which they use to catch prey and pull it into their jaws. Large individuals have bite forces comparable to those of mammalian predators.

Gallery

File:Argentine horned frog (Ceratophrys ornata).jpg, File:Chet Pac Man toad.jpg, File:Ceratophrys ornata (Pacman Frog).JPG, File:Cornuta side view web.jpg, File:Ceratophrys cornuta skeleton front.jpg,

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1421385 Ceratophryidae Amphibians of South America