The Pacific horned frog (''Ceratophrys stolzmanni''), also known as Pacific big-mouthed frog, Stolzmann's horned frog and Ecuadorian horned frog, is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

in the family

Ceratophryidae The Ceratophryidae, also known as common horned frogs, are a family of frogs found in South America. It is a relatively small family with three extant genera and 12 species. Despite the common name, not all species in the family have the horn-like ...

. It is found in

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

and

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s are

subtropical or tropical dry forest The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive ...

subtropical or tropical dry shrubland Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands is a terrestrial biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The biome is dominated by grass and/or shrubs located in semi-arid to semi-humid climate regions of subtropical and t ...

, and sandy shores. Its geographical range is very fragmented; it has a total area of about 20,000 km² and is continuously shrinking due to human activities.

Reproduction

Breeding is triggered by heavy rain fall and Pacific horned frogs reproduce explosively over the course of a single night. Typically, Pacific horned frogs lay underground during day and they are most active after sundown. Male frogs reproduce by approaching females both on land and shallow water and clasp on to the female, in a variation of axillary amplexus, also known as "neck amplexus".

Diet

In the wild, horned frogs fulfill their voracious appetite by eating small fish and

rodents Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are n ...

, while the adolescents eat smaller bugs and worms. In captivity they usually feed on worms and bugs (typically nightcrawlers, superworms, waxworms, and

crickets Crickets are orthopteran insects which are related to bush crickets and more distantly, to grasshoppers. In older literature, such as Imms,Imms AD, rev. Richards OW & Davies RG (1970) ''A General Textbook of Entomology'' 9th Ed. Methuen 886 ...

). They also eat small fish and baby feeder

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' ...

, though they shouldn't be a staple of their diet in captivity as it can cause

bloating Abdominal bloating (or simply bloating) is a short-term disease that affects the gastrointestinal tract. Bloating is generally characterized by an excess buildup of gas, air or fluids in the stomach. A person may have feelings of tightness, pressu ...

and high fat.

Behavior

Its behavior is usually calm and inactive, even during the night. However, it may roam around if it chooses during the night, though this is rare. If handled by humans, the frog may become aggressive and bite, which can draw blood due to its sandpaper-like teeth, which grow in as the frog reaches maturity. It is also not recommended to put two together in a tank if they are not breeding, as they can attack each other, also one may eat the other.

References

Ceratophrys Amphibians of Ecuador Amphibians of Peru Amphibians described in 1882 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{hyloidea-stub