Male African bullfrogs can reach lengths of more than 9 inches and weigh over 2 pounds. Some African bullfrogs have been known to grow to be as old as forty years. It can take a bullfrog in the desert environment as long as 28 years to reach its full size. Females are much smaller than the males are. Males are a dull green color, with yellow to orange on the throat. Females are more of an olive to light brown with white throat areas. Younger African bullfrogs are much more colorful than adults are. The front toes are thick and blunt with no webbing; the rear toes are slightly webbed. These frogs have huge skeletons with extremely large, heavy skulls.

Another way the African bullfrog is unique is that they can dig holes with their powerful legs. They spend about as much time out of the water as they do in the water. The bullfrog lives from central to eastern and southern Africa. The African bullfrog has adapted to its environment pretty well. It has three canine-like teeth that stick out from the lower jaw. These teeth are used to fight off predators and to hold on to its prey. The bullfrog will try to eat anything that will fit in its mouth, including the hand of an incautious human. The row of teeth has been known to draw blood from the organism it bites. Adult bullfrogs seem to be very aggressive if provoked and will expand to intimidate you.

One of the most adaptable amphibians on earth is the African bullfrog. It can tolerate some of the harshest environments in Africa. Certain areas of their range can be completely dry for years at a time. Their habitat can reach surface temperatures of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit and then drop to below freezing during the winter. When the rainy season begins, they occupy temporary floodplains and rapidly drying puddles scattered around the African countryside. The African bullfrog has been known to inhabit extremely hostile regions from the Kalahari desert, to the high domains between 4,000 and 5,000 feet above sea level. In the wild, these frogs live in very dry conditions. During the long, dry summers, these frogs will burrow deep into the soil and cloak themselves in a watertight skin cocoon (made up of dead skin layers). This cocoon will prevent the body fluids from evaporating. The frog will go into hibernation.

Although common in most of Africa, it's population has declined in South Africa, especially in Gauteng Province. In (2001) the species was declared extinct in Swaziland. It seems to be very uncommon in the northern areas with very few confirmed records from Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, and Kenya.

This African bullfrog is carnivorous and will consume any animals, that can be fit in their huge mouths. Cannibalism is a common occurrence beginning the moment they metamorphose. Many of their first meals will be a member of the same egg mass. Other prey items may include invertebrates, other species of frogs, reptiles, small mammals, and even small birds.

The African bullfrog’s biggest advantage against its predator is its size. It also uses its teeth to fight off would-be enemies and will swell its body up to make itself look even bigger and more intimidating. Its aggressive behavior and a tendency to defend itself by attacking intruders with mouth agape can often protect it from predators such as larger wading birds, pelicans, Nile monitor lizards, driver ants, mammals, and even humans. The worst and most affecting predator of this bullfrog is pollution. Since these frogs spend most of their time in ponds it is very harmful to them when their pond is polluted.

Some of the interesting facts I learned when I was researching the African bullfrog was that they are the biggest frog in Africa and the sixth largest frog in the world. Another fact that stood out when I read it was how they hibernate during the winter. I think it is amazing that when their hibernate they keep themselves warm with their dead skin as a blanket. The last interesting fact about the African Bullfrog is that it has teeth like things in their mouth that helps them eat their prey.

Author: Alexis A
Published: 2/2007

Bibliography
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"African Bullfrog" (On-line). Accessed November 13, 1999 at http://www.zooregon.org/cards/Rainforest/bullfrog.african.htm.

Channing, A., L. duPreez, N. Passmore. 1994. Status, vocalization, and breeding biology of two species of African bullfrogs (Ranidae: Pyxicephalus). J. Zool. Soc. of London, 234: 141-148.

Moore, M. 1997. A Pyxie Perfecta. Reptiles Magazine, Sept. 1997: 62-67.

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