Content deleted Content added
cleanup |
Quetzal1964 (talk | contribs) bold binomial as per revised MOS:LEAD#Organisms |
||
| (32 intermediate revisions by 21 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{Short description|Species of amphibian}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = African Bullfrog (Pyxicephalus edulis) juvenile (12618902215).jpg
|
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 16 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group |date=2016 |title=''Pyxicephalus edulis'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T76317591A87648183 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T76317591A87648183.en |access-date=16 November 2021}}</ref>
| taxon = Pyxicephalus edulis
| authority = [[Wilhelm Peters|Peters]], 1854<ref name=amnh/>
| synonyms =
{{Specieslist
|Maltzania bufonia|Boettger, 1881
|Rana maltzanii|Boulenger, 1882
|Phrynopsis boulengerii|Pfeffer, 1893
|Pyxicephalus flavigula|Calabresi, 1916
|Rana bufonia|(Boettger, 1881)
|Phrynopsis usambarae|Ahl, 1924
|Rana (Pyxicephalus) flavigula|(Calabresi, 1916)
|Rana (Pyxicephalus) reiensis|Monard, 1951
}}
| synonyms_ref=<ref name=amnh/>
}}
The '''edible bullfrog''' ('''''Pyxicephalus edulis''''') is a species of [[frog]] in the [[Pyxicephalidae]] family.▼
▲The '''edible bullfrog''' ('''''Pyxicephalus edulis'''''), also known as the '''pixie frog''', '''lesser bullfrog''' or '''Peter's bullfrog''',<ref name = amnh/> is a large-bodied African species of [[frog]] in the family [[Pyxicephalidae]]
==Description==
The edible bullfrog is a large bodied frog in which the males typically reach {{cvt|8.3–12|cm|in}} in snout–to–[[Cloaca|vent]] length and the females {{cvt|8.5–11|cm|in}}.<ref name = AmphibiaWeb>{{cite web | url = http://amphibiaweb.org/species/4967 | title = ''Pyxicephalus edulis'' Edible bullfrog | accessdate = 15 October 2016 | publisher = University of California, Berkeley, CA|work = AmphibiaWeb}}</ref> Exceptionally large males may even reach {{cvt|13.8|cm|in}}, although the species does not approach the sizes attained by the related [[African bullfrog]] (''P. adspersus'').<ref name=Scott2013>{{cite journal | author1=Scott, E. | author2=J.D. Visser | author3=C.A. Yetman | author4=L. Oliver | author5=D.G. Broadley | year=2013 | title=Revalidation of Pyxicephalus angusticeps Parry, 1982 (Anura: Natatanura: Pyxicephalidae), a bullfrog endemic to the lowlands of eastern Africa | journal=Zootaxa | volume=3599 | issue=3 | pages=201–228 | doi=10.11646/zootaxa.3599.3.1 | pmid=24613871 | hdl=2263/57608 | hdl-access=free }}</ref> The females of the edible bullfrog are much less bulky than the males and typically reach just half of the weight of the males. There are two tooth like structures in the lower jaw of the broad mouth bears which point upwards. The skin of the edible bullfrog has slight, rather rounded warts. It has short lateral ridges which never stretch all the way from the head to the end of the body, their form changes considerably as the frog grows. The young frogs are quite sturdy and look almost plump but the adults show dorsoventral flattening. As the frogs grow their eyes become more centrally placed, and the eyes of adults are very protruding. They show a distinct [[tympanum (anatomy)|tympanum]], which is large and oval in shape. The front feet are unwebbed but the hind feet are webbed.<ref name = AmphibiaWeb/>
[[File:Pyxicephalus edulis02.jpg|thumb|left|<center>Immature specimen]]▼
The backs of adult animals is more or less uniform yellow green to drab olive green with the males tending to be greener than the more olive brown females. The females may show a pale stripe along the backbone, light lines on the ridges and warts, these are less common in males. The newly metamorphosed young often have a bright, light green stripe along the middle of the back, with gold-brown speckles and black markings on their dark green skin and the lips and extremities where they form black bars. The lower half of the body is uniformly white or cream, although the male has a dark yellow throat.<ref name = AmphibiaWeb/>
==Voice==
A short, deep "whoop" call which lasts from 0.11 to 0.29 sec, and is made at irregular intervals.<ref name = AmphibiaWeb/>
==Distribution==
The edible bullfrog is found in [[Angola]], [[Benin]], [[Botswana]], [[Burkina Faso]], [[Chad]], [[Kenya]], [[Malawi]], [[Mali]], [[Mauritania]], [[Mozambique]], [[Nigeria]], [[Tanzania]], [[Zambia]] and [[Zimbabwe]]; but there is some confusion due to misidentification with similar closely related species such as [[African bullfrog]] ''Pyxicephalus adspersus''.<ref name = AmphibiaWeb/>
==Habitat==
Flooded grasslands,<ref name = amnh>{{cite web | url = http://research.amnh.org/vz/herpetology/amphibia/Amphibia/Anura/Pyxicephalidae/Pyxicephalinae/Pyxicephalus/Pyxicephalus-edulis | title = ''Pyxicephalus edulis'' Peters, 1854 | accessdate = 15 October 2016 | publisher = Darrel Frost and [[The American Museum of Natural History]]}}</ref> in northern Cameroon it seems to prefer open marshy areas. While elsewhere flooded meadows and ditches are recorded. Edible bullfrogs show a preference for clay or sand substrates.<ref name = AmphibiaWeb/>
==Biology==
The edible bullfrog spends approximately 10 months of the year in [[aestivation]] beneath the surface of the soil, only emerging to breed in numbers if sufficiently heavy rain, i.e. more than {{convert|70|mm|in|abbr=on}}, falls within a short period. After which male edible bullfrogs call on the flooded grassland and from any small, temporary pools such as included roadside ditches, shallow excavations where the water is shallow, less than {{convert|200|mm|in|abbr=on}} in depth and had flooded vegetation. Breeding appears to occur during the day and breeding activity and calling had decreased substantially by midday.<ref name = Engelbrecht>{{cite journal | last1 = Engelbrecht | first1 = Derek | year = 2015 | title = Notes on the breeding behaviour and ecology of Edible Bullfrogs ''Pyxicephalus edulis'' Peters, 1854 in the Limpopo Province, South Africa | url = http://www.biotaxa.org/hn/article/viewFile/7799/14027 | journal = Herpetology Notes | volume = 8 | pages = 365–369}}</ref>
The males gathered in loose groups in the shallow water, each congregation centred on a dominant male which charged at, bit and tossed any other males that approached too closely. Some males, however, would head straight for the dominant male. These aggressive bouts often caused serious injuries and there were even some that ended in the death of one of the combatants. The females move freely within and between these male gatherings with the males pursuing them. Courtship is simple and the female begins laying soon after [[amplexus]] commences. Once paired, the other frogs did not generally disturb by other frogs, but displacement of the male from the female by another male has been recorded. The spawn is laid in shallow water.<ref name = Engelbrecht/>
Males call from shallow water lying in the water with their heads and vocal sacs above the surface, their deep calls causing a rippling effect in the water, calling decreases as the day progressed and, if the rain is short-lived the frog will cease calling quite quickly.<ref name = Engelbrecht/>
The diet consists of insects including [[Coleoptera]] which were found in 100% of stomach contents sampled, as were [[Orthoptera]] while [[Isoptera]], [[Diplopoda]], [[Hymenoptera]] and [[spider]]s were also recorded. Some vegetation was also recorded but this is assumed to have been swallowed accidentally when capturing animal prey.<ref name = Engelbrecht/>
The aggregation of breeding frogs attracts several bird predators and these have included [[yellow-billed kite]] ''Milvus aegyptius'', [[marabou stork]] ''Leptoptilos crumeniferus'', [[saddle-billed stork]] ''Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis'', [[intermediate egret]] ''Mesophoyx intermedia'', [[grey heron]] ''Ardea cinerea'' and [[black-headed heron]] ''Ardea melanocephala''. Some edible bullfrogs were seen to lunge at water birds that got too close, possibly these were males aggressively defending their territories.<ref name = Engelbrecht/> After spawning the males guard the tadpoles and may dig channels for them if their natal pool is drying out too quickly.<ref name="iucn status 16 November 2021" /><ref name = Engelbrecht/>
==Human use==
Edible bullfrogs are locally, widely used for human consumption, although not at a subsistence level. It is occasionally found in the international pet trade.<ref name="iucn status 16 November 2021" />
==Conservation==
A major threat to the populations of edible bullfrogs in most of its range is collection of frogs for local consumption. Edible bullfrogs are sometimes also found in the international pet trade but at levels that are low enough that they do not constitute a major threat to the species. In some areas, e.g. western Tanzania, habitat loss such as the conversion of [[miombo]] to agricultural land may combine with over exploitation to reduce populations.<ref name="iucn status 16 November 2021" />
<gallery>
File:Pyxicephalus edulis01a.jpg|{{center|Immature specimen}}
</gallery>
==References==
{{
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2696978}}
[[Category:Pyxicephalus]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters]]
[[Category:Frogs of Africa]]
[[Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot]]
| |||