The great horned frog failure
By Richard Bartlett · June 5, 2014 5:39 am
Failure. Yep, failure. It looked for a while as if my Caatinga horned frogs, Ceratophrys joazierensis, had decided to breed.
The male vocalized extensively, the female allowed amplexus, and then a super cold front rolled in and even with heaters on the room cooled, the frogs separated, moved over to an area of deep sphagnum, burrowed down, and formed cocoons!
That was in mid-January and now, in late April, the perpetually warmer weather has roused them. Having ended their prolonged fast, both frogs are again avidly accepting nightcrawlers.
The other night Grumpy, the male, emitted a few half-heared vocalizations. I'm thinking that its almost time to reactivate the rain chamber. Almost -- but not quite yet.
More photos under the jump...
The supraorbital appendages of this species are easily seen:
Amplexing Caatinga horned frogs:
 Author, photographer, and columnist Richard Bartlett is one of the most prolific writers on herpetological subjects in the 20th century. With hundreds of books and articles to their credit, Richard and his wife Pat have spent over four decades documenting reptiles both in the field and in captivity. For a list of their current titles, please visit their page in our bookstore. |
