Pyxicephalus adspersus
SUBFAMILY
Pyxicephalinae
TAXONOMY
Pyxicephalus adspersus Tschudi, 1838, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Giant pixie; German: Gruener Grabfrosch.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
This is a large, toadlike species; males have a snout-vent length up to 9 in (230 mm) and a weight up to 2.4 lb (1.075 kg). Males are larger than females. Adults are olive green and juveniles are bright green, with longitudinal skin folds on the dorsum, short legs, and a shovel-shaped inner metatarsal tubercle. Odontoid fangs are present on the lower jaw.
DISTRIBUTION
The species' range is southern Africa.
HABITAT
This frog inhabits open grass or bush country.
BEHAVIOR
These frogs estivate underground in a cocoon made of layers of molted skin. They emerge after heavy rains to breed.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
These frogs are omnivorous. Because of their large size and aggressive habits, they can feed on vertebrates (mammals, birds, snakes, lizards, and frogs, including their own young or even other adults).
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Males gather in daylight in shallow temporary pools, where they emit their loud "whoop, whoop," which recalls the lowing of cattle. Males usually fight among themselves, frequently wounding each other with their odontoids. Dominant males may fertilize the eggs of several females in their territory. Females lay 3,000–4,000 pigmented eggs that are each 0.08 in (2 mm) in diameter. Tadpoles with 4–5/3 tooth rows may reach a size of 2.8 in (71 mm). They swim together in schools of up to 3,000, attended by the father. The father can attack and bite potential predators (including lions or humans) or dig channels 49 ft (15 m) long or more, allowing tadpoles that have become isolated in peripheral puddles to return to the main pond. Metamorphosis usually takes place very quickly (as little as 18 days after egg laying). Froglets may eat each other.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not listed by IUCN.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
From prehistoric times to the present, adults, young, and tadpoles have been eaten by various peoples in Africa.
