#Surinam Horned Toad

[arthistoryanimalia]

#WorldFrogDay: Maybe this Surinam Horned Frog (Ceratophrys cornuta) wouldn't look so happy if it could read what naturalist George Shaw wrote about it in its description...

"Horned Frog" from The Naturalist's Miscellany, v.3, pl. 76 (1791-2) by George Shaw (English, 1751-1813). Biodiversity Heritage Library.

Here's what Shaw said: "Should inquiry be made, which is the ugliest animal yet known to exist? The creature here represented might perhaps with justice be proposed as an answer: an animal of such prodigious deformity as even to exceed in this respect the Surinam toad...." ☹️

[heresvix]

Besides the ones your OCs are based off of, what animals do you like?

And also, what are your opinions on Whale and Dolphins?

And lastly, do you like beans.

I like a lot of animals honestly, but here’s some notable favorites: white’s tree frog, packman frog, surinam horned frog, the african bullfrog, cane toad, european toad, glass frog, mexican leaf frog, etc. Also horses and dogs <3

I think whales and dolphins are cool. Not my favorite animals but i do appreciate their shapeliness.

Beans :) (kidney beans are my favorite)

[rostomanologist]

you. do you like toads

yea toads are very cool

wanted to show a toad but didn't have any in my camera roll so here. have a surinam horned frog from saint petersburg aquarium. it looks like a toad for me. very chill toad

[catwitching]

Top 5 frogs?

5. The Surinam toad*

*not actually a toad

Flat fuck Friday contender. Their babies incubate in their backs until they pop out in a sort of reverse Alien situation. Don't google that if you have trypophobia.

4. Desert rain frog

Everyone knows these frogs. Basically a grape with legs.

3. The growling grass frog

Native to Australia! My frog neighbours. I believe these frogs should get to vote, at least in council elections. Their call really does sound like a growl.

2. Surinam horned frog

A big frog with a big mouth. Also, look at those horns! Those eyes! This is an alien and I love it.

African bullfrog

LARGE. Funky back texture. Nice green colour. You may have seen that video of them battling - very powerful and VERY goofy. 10/10 frog.

Honourable mention: Purple frog

HELLO??????

Barely a frog. This is wet beast 101. They are purple I will give them that at least.

[mitamicah]

there's a frog species nicknamed "banjo frogs" because their call kind of sounds like a string being plucked! that's already fun, but they also have another, even funnier nickname... pobblebonk

i think that's just delightful

actually there's a lot of frogs/toads with fun names and appearances! like the motorbike frog, the hairy frog/horror frog/wolverine frog, banana frog, pumpkin toadlet, horned frog, paradoxical frog/shrinking frog, turtle frog, any flying frog, common Surinam toad/star-fingered toad, and amazon milk frog!

not gonna add fun facts for all of them because i'm not about to make you read a wall of text afajkfjkdsfj i have self-restraint bigger than my need to talk about frogs at all times

Banjo frog is rEAL OVO I honestly throught it was "just" a meme that a carpenter had made (seen a tiktok a bit too much about queers loving banjo frogs x'D hahaha) omg that's so cool I love that :D!!! 🐸

Horror frog OVO? Banana frog? MILK FROG? okay these are cool and silly and I love that x'D

Thank you for sharing all these wonderful frog names ��🐸I dig them a lot :D <3

[neanderthalfakemon]

#114 - Bufroak

#115 - Suriwyrm

[antiqueanimals]

From Frogs, Toads, and Salamanders, and How They Reproduce. Illustrated by Matthew Kalmenoff. 1975.

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Honk for the Amazon Horned Frog

The Amazon horned frog, or the Surinam horned frog (Ceratophrys cornuta) is a medium-sized species of frog found in the tropical forests of South America. They tend to be wide and bulky, but only grow to be about 20cm in length and weigh 0.5kg. Color schemes can range from tan to green to brown, and this frog blends in very well with the leaf litter on the forest floor. The Amazon horned frog’s name comes from two horn-like protrusions over the eyes, although these are more likely meant to break up the frog’s silhouette than to be used for fighting. This species is also sometimes mistaken for a toad due to the bumps over its skin.

Like all frogs and toads, C. cornuta begins its life as an egg. After a male attracts a female by calling and the two mate, the male helps deposit the fertilized eggs onto the female’s back. The usual clutch size ranges from 300-600 eggs. The female then searches for an appropriate place-- usually an ephemeral pool-- for the eggs to develop into tadpoles, a process that takes anywhere from 3 to 25 days after being fertilized. Tadpoles are highly aggressive and will fight each other as they develop. It takes three months for tadpoles to grow into fully-formed frogs, although they do not become sexually mature for another 3 or 4 years.

In their day-to-day life, Surinam horned frog spends its time hiding in leaf litter or under fallen logs. It is an ambush predator, to which its appearance lends itself well. It’s predation actually makes it one of the most distinguished frogs, as they have one of the largest mouth-width to body length ratios. This exceptionally large mouth enables them to consume a wide variety of prey, including mice, fish, frogs, lizards, and tadpoles of their own species. Common predators consist of birds and snakes. Against each other, Amazon horned frogs are incredibly violent and will attack each other with their sharp teeth. They will also use those sharp teeth against predators or perceived threats.

Conservation status: Listed as Least Concern by the IUCN; however, they are currently threatened by heavy habitat loss and capture for the pet trade.

Photos

George Grall

Bernard Dupont (via Wikipedia)

Cullen Hanks (via iNaturalist)

[luna--dragon]

Y'know how some real frog species' can look really weird? I'm a little upset that more Amphibia characters aren't based on those. Don't get me wrong, the character designs in the show are SUPERB.

However, I'm a little upset that there's only been one non-canon Glass frog, and there's only a throwaway frobot based on the Suriname toad.

Where are the Shovel Headed frogs? Where are the Amazon Horned frogs? Where are the Hairy frogs? Where are the Poison Dart frogs? All I'm seeing are a lot of missed opportunities.

[randomencounters]

Table of Were-Creatures

“Even one who is pure in heart / and says their prayers by night / may become a ___ when the night-flower blooms and the silver moon is bright.”

I’m not sure if I recommend using this with the Table of Races from a previous post (https://randomencounters.tumblr.com/post/631073167702687744/okay-fine-a-d100-table-of-races). I was trying this table out and, sure, a Drow Were-Styracosaur, a Succubus that turns into a Hyena when the moon is full, sure, but I’m not sure even I could handle a Mi-Go Were-Baleen-Whale.

Wolf

Bear (type appropriate to character’s native land)

Boar

Jackal

Hyena

Bat

Wild dudes with horns and hooves (d8: Deer, Moose, Ibex, Antelope, Gazelle, Fanged Muntjac, Saiga Antelope, Mountain Goat)

Big Cat (d4: Lion, Tiger, Panther, Jaguar)

Housecat

Domesticated Dog (d20: Chihuahua, Tibetan Mastiff, Great Dane, French Bulldog, Pug, Italian Greyhound, Golden Retriever, Black Lab, Basset Hound, Shih Tzu, Pit Bull, Husky, Beagle, Bichon Frise, Yorkshire Terrier, Corgi, Pomeranian, Boston Terrier, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Schnauzer)

Rodent (d10: Field Mouse, Rat, Naked Mole Rat, Guinea Pig, Jerboa, Squirrel, Sugar-Glider, Chipmunk, Capybara, Anti-Magic Field Mouse)

Beaver

Skunk

Possum

Fox

Hedgehog

Star-Nosed Mole

Ferret

Otter

Snake (d6: Cobra, Rattle, Ball Python, Puff Adder, Gliding, Winged, Hoop)

Frilled Lizard

Snapping Turtle

Horned Lizard

Suchian (d4: Alligator, Crocodile, Gharial, Caiman)

Plesiosaur

Deinonychus

Herbivorous Dinosaur (d4: Stegosaur, Styracosaur, Brachiosaur, Ankylosaur)

Pterodactyl

Amphibian (d8: Bullfrog, Tropical Poison Frog, Spring Peeper, Surinam Toad, Chinese Mustache Toad, Axolotl, Salamander, one of those weird extinct hammerhead dudes)

Cow

Giraffe

Goat

Sheep

Horse

Llama or Alpaca

Armadillo

Sloth

Kangaroo

Platypus

Koala

Panda

Anteater

Aye-Aye

Ape (d4: Gorilla, Chimpanzee, Orangutan, Proboscis)

Elephant

Rhinoceros

Hippo

Tapir

Fowl (d4: Chicken, Duck, Goose, Peacock)

Wild bird (d10: Crow, Woodpecker, Hummingbird, Eagle, Hawk, Pelican, Vulture, Owl, Penguin, Dodo)

Freshwater Fish (d6 Catfish, Salmon, Sturgeon, Gar, Fancy Koi, Fur-Bearing Trout)

Saltwater Fish (d20: Lionfish, Puffer, Stingray, Remora, Swordfish, Coelacanth, Anglerfish, Stoplight Loosejaw, Gulper Eel, Blobfish, Hagfish, Mola-Mola, Electric Eel, Sarcastic Fringehead, Hammerhead Shark, Sawfish, Megamouth Shark, Goblin Shark, Wobbegong, Great White Shark)

Cetacean (d6: Orca, Walrus, Baleen Whale, Dolphin, Barking Seal, Narwhal)

Marine Mollusk (d10: Dumbo Octopus, Blue Ring Octopus, Mimic Octopus, Humboldt Squid, Vampire Squid, Magnapinna Squid, Colossal Squid, Cuttlefish, Clam/Oyster/Mussel, Spiny Conch)

Crustacean (d6: Blue Crab, Snow Crab, Hermit Crab, Lobster, Mantis Shrimp, Pillbug)

Other marine invertebrate (d10: Starfish, Jellyfish, Sea Urchin, Sea Cucumber, Bobbit Worm, Anemone, Anomalocaris, Opabinia, Barnacle, Glaucus)

Arachnid (d8: Tarantula, Spiny Orb Weaver, Cartwheel, Black Widow, Regular Scorpion, Vinegaroon, Tick, Horseshoe Crabs which are apparently Arachnids)

Centipede

Insect (d10: Stag Beetle, Mayfly, Stick Bug, Wasp, Moth, Camel Cricket, Junebug, Earwig, Bullet Ant, Orchid Mantis)

Snail (d10: 1-6 garden, 7-9 venomous, 10 Flail)

Ooze (d4: Banana Slug, Gelatinous Cube, Green Slime, Black Pudding)

Lurker or Trapper

Roper or Darkmantle

Bag of Devouring

Rust Monster

Owlbear

Dragonet (roll d10: Red, Green, White, Black, Blue, Gold, Silver, Brass, Bronze, Copper)

Duckbunny

Bullette

Flumph

Mimic

Displacer-Beast

Blink Dog

Elemental/Paraelemental (d8: Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Lava, Ice, Lightning, Void)

Wyvern

Bonnacon

Basilisk/Cockatrice

Pegasus

Unicorn

Phoenix

Mongolian Death Worm

Fresno Nightcrawler

Cryptoleporidae (d4: Jackalope, Skvader, Rasselbock, Wolpertinger)

Elwetrisch

Dungavenhooter

Squonk

Sidehill Gouger (aka Prock, Hunkus, Gyascutus)

Avalerion

Rhinogradentia

Fiji Mermaid

Pokemon of choice

Pixie

Giant

Worm-on-a-string

Venus Fly Trap

Car

Chimaera (traditional Lion-Goat-Snake)

Chimaera (reroll this table three times for the three animals to combine)

Randomitemdrop.tumblr.com/random 

Randomencounters.tumblr.com/random

[carnegiemuseumnaturalhistory]

Who is the bigger fool – the fool or the fool that falls for it?

by Stevie Kennedy-Gold

The start of April only means one thing – pranks galore thanks to April Fools Day! Ok, ok, I realize that’s not necessarily true as April also marks that spring has sprung, many small critters are emerging from their hibernations, and we celebrate, among other things, Earth Day and Arbor Day. But we can all agree that April usually starts with a load of laughs, some fibs, and some fools. In the animal kingdom, however, fooling isn’t regulated to one day. In fact, many amphibians and reptiles rely on their ability to fool both predators and prey to survive.

Masters of Disguise

Fig. 1: Because of the large blotches on their backs, people often confuse the nonvenomous gopher snakes with venomous rattlesnakes. Gopher snakes play into this confusion, however, by imitating rattlesnake behaviors.

One of the oldest tricks in the book when it comes to fooling another is to transform to look like someone, or something, else. Although herpetofauna lack access to theatrical wardrobes teeming with makeup and outfits, they evolved behaviors and physical attributes that allow them to imitate other things. The gopher snake (Pituophis catenifer, Fig. 1), for instance, is a totally harmless colubrid species found across the western and middle United States and into Canada. They are beautiful animals, having splotches of gold, reddish-brown, and black along their bodies, and, due to these colorations, are often mistaken for rattlesnakes. What’s more, when spooked, gopher snakes tend to flatten their heads, coil into a strike position, and quickly sway their tails to and fro, a rattlesnake imitation that includes a realistic sound component when it occurs in dry grass. Most snakes are solitary animals and prefer to avoid conflict and avoid expending energy in get-away attempts, so scaring away potential predators through imitation is preferred over fighting and biting. Often times, this imitation works, and potential predators leave the gopher snake alone.

Fig. 2: Smooth horned frog (Proceratophrys boiei) specimens in the collection. Although the points above their eyes have been distorted due to preservation, it is clear to see how these frogs used their coloration, patterning, and morphological features to blend into leaf litter on the forest floor.

Predictably, snakes are not the only masters of disguise. Many frog species have unique morphological features that allow them to resemble other items in nature. The dark brown coloration and the points above the eyes of the smooth horned frog (Proceratophrys boiei) give it the appearance of a leaf (Fig. 2), allowing it to blend seamlessly into the forest floor and enabling it to both evade predators and ambush prey. Similarly, the entirely aquatic Suriname toad (Pipa pipa) looks like a dead leaf in the water due to its brown coloration and flattened body. Unless you’re an omnivore that prefers dead, low-nutrition leaves, the imitation tactics of these frogs improves their chances of survival and fools any prey items not clever enough to see past their disguises.

Deceptive Practices

Not all imitations are meant to help an animal blend in. Sometimes, imitations serve “nefarious” intents. Although not apparent to an outside observer, alligator snapping turtles (Macrochelys temminckii) have a sneaky tactic to lure prey directly into their mouth. The tongues of these turtles evolved a vestigial piece of flesh, called a lingual lure, to protrude from the tip. Alligator snapping turtles will sit on the bottom of lakes and rivers and open their powerful jaws to reveal this pink bit of flesh. They then move the lingual lure around to make it look like a tasty worm, fooling unsuspecting fish right into their giant maws. Spider-tailed horned vipers (Pseudocerastes urarachnoides), a species endemic to Iran, employ a similar tactic, albeit far more noticeably to the casual observer. Admittedly, the common name of this animal gives away the punch line, but, nonetheless, this species of viper evolved to have a unique tail. Much like how a rattlesnakes’ rattle is made of modified scales, the spider-tailed horned viper’s tail scales evolved so that the last few scales bulge out into a small bubble and the scales leading up to that bulge are heavily keeled, or ridged. While keeled scales are common in most species in the Viperidae family, the keeling on these tail scales is extremely exaggerated, making the scales look like long spikes, or even legs. When you combine the long, keeled scales with the large, posterior bulge, the tail of a spider-tailed horned viper actually looks like a spider! With the snakes speckled coloration allowing it to blend into surrounding rocks and a solid tail wiggle performance, the snake’s tail looks like a tasty spider lunch to unsuspecting birds… which then become lunch for the snake. Imitation is the best form of flattery… or maybe a reliable way to fill your belly!

Now You See Me, Now You Don’t

Whereas some reptiles and amphibians are the masters of disguise, allowing them to hide from predators or to lure unsuspecting prey, other herps use subtler bodily alterations to fool potential prey, predators, and even conspecifics (animals of the same species). Take, for example, color changes. Chameleons often come to mind at any mention of lizard color changes, but it is actually a misconception that chameleons perfectly blend into their surroundings, mimicking every leaf and twig in the background. In truth, chameleons and many other lizard species change colors to improve thermoregulation and to communicate with conspecifics – males signaling to females that they’re ready to mate, or relying on darker colors to demonstrate aggression. There are, however, some species of frogs that do lighten or darken their hue to blend into their surroundings. The gray treefrog (Hyla versicolor) is present across most of the eastern and middle United States and, as its name implies, is an arboreal species. Because it spends its time among green leaves and gray-brown tree trunks and branches, the gray treefrog has evolved the ability to change its body coloration so it can blend in perfectly with the substrate upon which it perches. If it is on a bright green leaf, the frog will shift to a green hue. Upon landing on a mossy rock or a lichen-crusted tree trunk, the frog will change to a more gray, blotched hue instead. One second, you can see the animal perfectly and, in the next, it has completely melted away into its surroundings.

Leaving Something Behind

Other herpetofauna use more exuberant tactics to evade capture. Unlike the camouflage-wielding gray treefrog, many lizard and salamander species will self-autotomize their tails to avoid being eaten. In these instances, the herp has already been seen (or, worse, caught by a herpetologist!) and needs a quick getaway. Running away without a distraction means that the predator will likely give chase and possibly capture the lizard or salamander. However, by self-autotomizing – or breaking off – their tails, these animals increase their chances of escaping. This drastic tactic is effective because the tail continues to wriggle around and move once detached from the animals’ body, making it a tasty and easy to grab meal! Many predators become distracted by the tail, leaving the lizard or salamander free to make its escape. Interestingly, this behavior is not strictly regulated to predator attacks. I witnessed a prolonged aggressive battle between two male western fence lizards (Sceloporus occidentalis), where one male lost his tail and, instead of leaving it to writhe on the ground and eventually decompose, the lizard (attempted) to make a hasty, grapple-filled retreat from the other male, all while holding his detached tail in his mouth! Although this seems morbid, it’s actually quite clever – tails require a lot of energy and resources to make, but then the appendage stores energy in the form of meat and fat. This male fence lizard was likely keeping hold of his old tail so that he could later consume it and regain those resources. And, don’t worry, most salamander and lizard species can regrow their autotomized tails (Fig. 3), an ability that many herpetologists take advantage of when we need tissue for genetic studies.

Fig. 3: Example of tail loss and regrowth in a female Anolis carolinensis (green anole). The red arrows points at the old break point, and you can see how the tail color differs in the new growth.

The list of herpetofaunal imitators and imposters, pranksters and fibbers goes on and on. Although these disguises and imitations aren’t meant to make other animals giggle and laugh as our April Fool’s Day pranks often do, these tactics allow these reptiles and animals to live another day, evade unwanted attention, or snag a tasty meal. But, at the end of the day, it really does beg the question… who is the bigger fool – the fool or the fool that falls for it?

Stevie Kennedy-Gold is the collection manager for the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

[offtopicoverload]

The LITG S2 Cast as Frogs Pt 2

Pt 1 for the uninitiated

Bobby - White’s Tree Frog

Easygoing, popular, friendly

Shannon - Wood Frog

Resourceful, tough, won’t take your shit

Rocco - Surinam Toad

Abomination, weird way of communicating, bad habits

Carl - Wallace’s Flying Frog

Cute, bad at leaving comfort zone, awful at confrontation

rHannah - Indian Bullfrog

Tries too hard to find a partner, entertaining in a weird way, invasive species

Lucas - Oriental Fire-Bellied Toad

Bark with an even worse bite, popular, strange markings

Blake - Poison Dart Frog

Attractive, eye-grabbing, toxic as hell

Kassam - Amazon Milk Frog

Unique, interesting, bad under pressure

Jo - Desert Rain Frog

Known for strange communication, not as intimidating as it thinks, ugly but in different ways

Jakub - Brazilian Horned Frog

Arrogant, predatory, should not exist

[broken-clover]

What kinds of frogs do you think the guilty gear fighters could be?

Zato is a Surinam toad because they’re both crimes against god.

Genuinely, though considering frogs are my thing one would think I’d already have thought this all out.

For some reason the only ones I can think of would be the stupid goofy ones. Ky is an edible frog because irony. Raven is a hairy frog because they break their own limbs as a form of self defense. Sol is a horned frog because it has funny horns and a big grumpy mouth. Potemkin is a goliath frog because larj

[turtlessuggest]

Anuran (Frog and Toad) Class List

Sincere apologies to @froggiestfacts for doing a similar list, but I wanted to put my own take on it

Fighter: South American Horned Frog

Barbarian: African Clawed Frog

Paladin: Australian Green Tree Frog

Thief: Grainy Cochran Frog

Ranger: Dotted Humming Frog (w/ tarantula partner)

Bard: Spring Peeper

Wizard: Red Eyed Tree Frog

Sorcerer: Fire Belly Toad

Warlock: Common Suriname Toad

Cleric: Golden Toad (extinct)

Monk: Malabar Gliding Frog

Druid: American Toad

[knifebun]

top 5 frog/toad species

- DESERT RAIN FROG!!!- amazon milk frog!! - black webbed free frog - vietnamese moss frog- surinam horned frogim surprised i know enough frogs to be able to answer this ahah

[hatchethive]

Updating this! I finally found where I had left my list of frogs for the other main characters of tgwdlm. I genuinely don’t remember my thought process for this. I did, however, leave a few basic notes for myself as an explanation I gues, so I’ll add those in. Anyways, let’s get to the frogs/toads. Ted- either a sehuencas water frog or a budgett’s frog

Charolette- African rain frog (small, strangely loud)

Hidgens- ornate horned frog

Sam- Surinam toad/ Venezuela pebble toad (freaky looking)

Alice- black rain frog (looks sad most of the time, small, and angry)

Bill- Australian green tree frog

General McNamara- American bullfrog

Emma- desert rain frog

Normal Paul as a frog would be a Copes Gray treefrog while infected! Paul would be a blue poison dart frog