Amazon Horned Frog -- National Geographic

Indiscriminate eaters, Amazon horned frogs can grow to about the size of a small plate.

Photograph by George Grall

Map

Amazon Horned Frog Range

Fast Facts

Type:: Amphibian
Diet:: Carnivore
Size:: 4 to 6 in (10 to 15 cm)
Weight:: Up to 1 lb (480 g)
Group name:: Army or colony
Did you know?: Some Amazon villagers wear high leather boots called botas escuerzas to repel attacks by the highly territorial Amazon horned frog.
Size relative to a tea cup:

The first thing that stands out about the Amazon horned frog is its size. These rotund amphibians can grow to 8 inches (20 centimeters) 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.

Amazon 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."

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.

More Frogs and Toads

Please select a test to run

Amphibian Features

Poison Dart Frog Pictures

Want to see more of these incredibly colorful critters? Hop on in.
Warty Newt

Meet the endangered newt that’s Europe’s largest. Learn why these amphibians are special—warts and all.
Spotted Salamander

Go underground and meet this salamander that's both large and common, yet so secretive it’s rarely seen.

Please select a test to run

On Nat Geo WILD

TV Schedule »

Animal News

Animals

The Innovators Project

Alan Guth: Waiting for the Big Bang

Three decades ago, the innovative physicist had a eureka moment that explained the universe.

See more innovators »

Special Ad Section

Animal News

From the Magazine

Gannets Pictures

Champion divers but clumsy landers, doting parents but hostile neighbors—northern gannets abound in contradictions.
Estonia's Ural Owls

Photographer Sven Začek provides an intimate view of this large raptor.