Argentine horned frog

Ceratophrys ornata · The Argentine horned frog is a large, voracious frog native to the grasslands of Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil.

Also called Ornate horned frog, Argentine wide-mouthed frog, Argentina Horned Frog, Bell's Ceratophrys, Ornate horned toad.

Argentine horned frog
Photo: Melanie Mae Bryan from Greensboro, NC, USA, CC BY 2.0
Argentine horned frog
Photo: Raita Futo from Tokyo, Japan, CC BY 2.0
Argentine horned frog
Photo: Motokoka, CC BY-SA 4.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassAmphibia
OrderAnura
FamilyCeratophryidae
GenusCeratophrys
SpeciesCeratophrys ornata

Where it lives

Pampas grasslands of the Río de la Plata region, Uruguay and southern Brazil.

Fun facts

  • Its mouth is so huge it makes up roughly half of the frog's entire body size.
  • It's so voracious it will try to swallow prey even if doing so risks suffocating itself.
  • Females can grow to 16.5 cm long, noticeably bigger than males, which top out around 11.5 cm.
  • If threatened, it can deliver a painful bite thanks to tooth-like odontoid projections lining its jaws.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).