Froggy Krueger
In the spirit of the season, I will be doing Halloween themed animals. This week we are dealing with an animal that is known for its large stature, loud war cry, and aggressive behavior. This fanged cannibal is the terror of the pond. It is my spooky pleasure to introduce you to Budgett’s frog aka the Freddy Krueger frog.
What is it? I feel like we can be on first name basis with this species. So, Freddy is a large, oddly shaped, round, big-eyed frog. This frog is literally 1/3 head…and that is mostly mouth. This obviously will come into play later. Inside that huge mouth resides a row of teeth on top and two decently sized fangs on the bottom. Ok back to the whole frog. These frogs are large at a whopping 5 inches large, and when threatened it can balloon up to appear even bigger. They also have creepy little fingers….similar to their namesake. They’re weird looking (I’m not judging, but it is spooky month).
Where do you find these frogs? These Krueger’s are not fan of the North American suburbs that their name sake prefers to lurk. Instead these frogs are found in pools and ponds throughout Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina. There are temporary pools that develop in the summer rains. When the dry season moves in, and the pools dry up, the frogs will burrow into the wet sand for a nice long nap till the rains come back again.
What do these frogs eat? Everything…absolutely everything. If it can fit in its ridiculously large mouth, our Freddie will eat it. These frogs are obligate carnivores, which means they only eat meat. Generally they eat other frogs, insects, snails, and are known (both adults and tadpoles) to eat each other. Remember when I said that these frogs have massive mouths, well they like to sneak up on their prey and then BAM…the frog swallows them whole. Poor thing had no idea what happened. These guys are VORACIOUS, dare I say… aggressive hunters. Tiny, amphibious monsters.
How do Budgett’s make little monster tadpoles? As the rainy season wakes up the frogs from the dry season slumber, they feel the call to make more monsters. Females can lay around 1,400 eggs in one mating session. The male will fertilize the eggs shortly after. This is where the love and parenting ends. The eggs will hatch and begin a fast paced metamorphosis in order to survive when the pools dry up. What is the fastest way to grow from a little tadpole to a strong frog? Eating siblings. Yep, even young Freddy’s are little cannibalistic monsters. Budgett’s frogs will hit sexual maturity around 1 year old.
What are their superpowers? I don’t know if I want to call them superpowers, but these frogs are extremely tough. First they show absolutely no fear. They think they are the biggest baddest thing out there. If they ever feel threatened, they poof up and emit the most frightening squeal known to mankind. A mighty, miniature war cry. If that didn’t do the trick, then they will charge the threat and maul it with their fangs. The second superpower is their ability to survive the dry season. As the pools start disappearing the frogs will burrow into the ground. There, a shell of dead skin forms around the frog and locks in moisture to hold the frog over till rainy season.
How many are there? There is no population estimate on the wild population, but it appears to be stable as of right now. These frogs are also kept as pets, and some frog connoisseurs think that Budgett’s frog is adorable.
Science Time!!!!
Budgett’s frog aka Freddy Krueger frog - Lepidobatrachus laevis
According to the IUCN Red List, these frogs have been designated as Least Concern with a stable population. They currently aren’t facing too many threats. The two biggest threats are habitat loss and illegal pet trade. So, despite being apart of the spooky animal month, I’ll take this win of a species doing well. Good Job Freddy!
Resources:
Dallas World Aquarium. (n.a.). Budgett’s frog. Animals. https://dwazoo.com/animal/budgetts-frog/
Leibach, J. (2012). The Freddy Krueger Frog. Audubon Magazine. https://www.audubon.org/news/the-freddy-krueger-frog
IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group. 2023. Lepidobatrachus laevis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species2023: e.T57111A101428487. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T57111A101428487.en.
