Facts on African Bullfrog

Facts on African Bullfrog

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Pyxicephalidae
Genus: Pyxicephalus
Species: P. adspersus


1. Do you know that bullfrogs' fingers are short and blunt. The bullfrog’s skin is dull green. A male’s dewlap, which is the loose skin hanging from the throat, is yellow. A female’s dewlap is a cream color. Young African bullfrogs are brightly patterned, often with a yellow stripe down the back.

2. The large mouth allows bullfrog to eat reptiles, small rodents, birds and other amphibians.

3. In the front of its lower jaw are three large, toothlike projections.

4. It vocalizes with loud bellows and roars.

5. It may sit quietly for hours partially buried in the earth with only its nose exposed.

6. African bullfrogs hibernate during the dry season.

6. Frogs breed when they emerge from hibernation with the return of rains. Isn't it a good fact?

7. The female lays between 3,000 and 4,000 eggs in shallow water. Wow! that's an amazing fact about African Bullfrog.

8. Tadpoles emerge the second day after eggs are laid.

9. The young may be smooth-skinned.

10. Interestingly, the frog is also called the pixie frog. This, of course, has nothing to do with the animal’s size. “Pixie” comes from its scientific name of Pyxicephalus adspersus.

11. As belligerent as he can sometimes be, the male African bullfrog is a doting father, to a point. If he sees that the pool that holds his tadpoles is running out of water, he’ll use his back legs to dig a channel into a larger pool to both replenish the smaller pool and allow the tadpoles to escape. On the other hand, he’ll sometimes eat his young.

12. After burrowing underground, some African bullfrogs keep just their noses above ground, the better to grab any unsuspecting prey.

13. When the frog estivates, it sloughs off its skin one layer at a time to form a cocoon around itself. This is one of the adaptations the frog has developed to stay alive in a hostile environment.

14. The skin of frogs differs from the skin of humans and other mammals in that it needs to be shed in one piece from time to time. It first splits down the back, then splits across the animal’s belly. This allows the frog to pull its arms and legs out of the old skin then work it off its head. The frog then eats its old skin.

15. African bullfrogs are solitary save the breeding season, which happens after a heavy rain that allows shallow, temporary pools of water to form. A group of frogs is called an army or a knot.

16. African bullfrogs don’t actually run very fast, but they can jump. They usually jump about 3 feet but can jump as much as 6 feet. This would be several times the length of their body.

17. The most distinctive feature of the African bullfrog is its sheer size.

18. African Bullfrog is also called the Giant African Bullfrog because of its size.

19. The frog is an amphibian and moves onto land when it matures. It also undergoes a metamorphosis from a tadpole to an adult.

20. If bought as a pet, the price of an African bullfrog is between $25 and $75. Doesn't it cost must.