African Bullfrog
Pyxicephalus adspersus
- Habitat: Arid and semi-arid habitats
- Range: Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, United Republic of, Zambia, Zimbabwe
- Natural Diet: Insects, amphibians, reptiles, small birds and small mammals
- Status in the Wild: Common
Fun Facts
-
African bullfrog males can get to the size of dinner plates while females are smaller in size
-
They are highly adaptable to a diverse range in temperature since they live in the Kalahari desert
-
Males take care of their young. They are known to dig channels when the water pool containing tadpoles starts to dry up. The channels helps tadpoles move into a larger body of water
-
African bullfrogs have powerful hindlegs that they use to burrow since they
estivate underground
-
They are highly carnivorous and have large mouths through which they fit such as small birds, small mammals, small reptiles, and other frogs
-
They have a large skull and jaws which they use to effortlessly restrain their prey
-
Most amphibians are able to conduct gaseous exchange through
their skin. This is called
cutaneous respiration
Conservation Threats
-
The major threats are habitat loss due to urbanization.
-
Illegal hunting and trapping for consumption also has a detrimental influence on their wild numbers
.jpg)
African bull frogs can grow to be as big as a dinner plate.
They are excellent diggers and are known to dig channels in
small pool walls to allow their tadpoles to move into larger
water pools for their survival
Distributional range - they are found in arid habitats in southern Africa