Pacman frog
Pacman frog – Everything you need to Know
Native to most of South America, this particular type is Pacman frog extends from Colombia to northern Argentina.
These lovely frogs are quite popular in captivity because of their low maintenance requirements, great appearance, and calm attitude.
Pacman frog care
The same-named character from an old-school video game gives the Pacman Frog its name. The frog’s rounded shape and wide mouth reflect those of the yellow character in the game.
These fast growing frogs take roughly a year to reach adult size. With females often growing to be larger than males, they can reach a maximum length of six inches.
Pacman Frog Taxonomy
Taxonomy in the context of the Animal Kingdom is the scientific study and application of classifying different species and subspecies based on their genetic and biological traits.
Family
Members of the Ceratophryidae family of frogs, sometimes known as Common Horned Frogs, the Pacman Frog
This little family of frogs all originate from South America. Although only three genera, this family boasts twelve different species.
Three genera comprise the family: Lepidobatrachus, Chacophrys, and Ceratophrys.
There only is one species in the Chacophrys genus: Chacophrys pierottii Usually referred to as the Chaco horned frog, it is
This species calls sections of western Paraguay, eastern Bolivia, and northern Argentina home.
The Lepidobatrachus genus has three species. Lepidobatrachus laevis, also known as the Budgett’s frog; Lepidobatrachus llanensis, also known as the llanos; Lepidobatrachus asper, also known as the Paraguayan Horned Frog.
Pacman Frog Genus
Pacman Frogs go under the genus Chacophrys. Remember that the Pacman Frog is a genus rather than a species hence every species within it is a Pacman Frog.
Along with Pacman Frogs, you may hear people calling these creatures South American Horned Frogs.
They are exactly the same. Two different common names are all it takes to define the group of frogs in this genus.
Right now, Pacman Frogs comprise eight different species. We will examine more closely every one of these species.
Brazilian Horned Frog
The Brazilian Horned Frog, commonly known as Wied’s Frog, calls several parts of Brazil home.
Its scientific name is Ceratophrys aurita; no recognized subspecies exist. Italian botanist Giuseppe Raddi first noted the species in 1823.
Among other subtropical humid environments, they can be found in ponds, wet lowland forests, and freshwater marshes.
Colombian Horned Frog
Found in both Colombia and Venezuela in a range of habitats, including freshwater marshes and dry scrubland and savannas, the Colombian Horned Frog, often called as the Venezuelan Horned Frog, is
Its scientific name is Ceratophrys calcarata; currently, no Pacman Frog subspecies are known.
British-Belgian biologist George Albert Boulenger initially described the species in 1890.
Surinam Horned Frog
Surinam Horned Frog is a species of Pacman frog endemic in northern parts of South America.
With a maximum length of around 20 cm, this species of Pacman Frog is rather large. They go under another name, the Amazonian Horned Frog.
The species is Ceratophrys cornuta; subspecies are not identified scientifically.
Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus first noted the species in 1758.
Binomial nomenclature is the modern system of naming organisms, defined by Linnaeus. He has named many reptiles including the Yellow-footed Tortoise, Common Slow Worm, Green Ameiva, Eastern Copperhead, Mediterranean House Gecko, Northern Water Snake, and Banded Water Snake.He also includes accounts of the Nile Monitor, the Greek Tortoise, the Ringneck Snake, the Blunthead Three Snake, and the Rainbow Lizard.
Cranwell’s Horned Frog
One more species of Pacman frog is the Cranwell’s Horned frog. Still another name for it is the Chacoan Horned Frog.
Originally from the Gran Chaco area, which spans some of Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, and Paraguay,
The scientific name for this species is Ceratophrys cranwelli; not yet any subspecies are known.
Herpetologist Argentinean-Spanish Avelino Barrio had already identified the species before it was formally named in 1980.
Joazeiro Horned Frog
The Joazeiro Horned Frog is another species of Pacman frog native in Brazilian territory. It goes under the Caatinga Horned Frog as another name.
The scientific name for this species is Ceratophrys joazeirensis; not yet any subspecies are known. 1986 saw the first written description of it.
Argentine Horned Frog
Comprising the grasslands of Uruguay, Brazil, and Argentina, the Argentine Horned Frog is the most often occurring species of Pacman frog.
This species has a few common names including the Ornate Pacman Frog, the Ornate Horned Frog, or just the Pacman Frog.
The scientific name for this species is Ceratophrys ornata; not yet any subspecies are known.
English naturalist Thomas Bell originally detailed this well-known frog species in 1843.
Pacific Horned Frog
Native to parts of South America’s Pacific Coast, the Pacific Horned Frog is as its name suggests a species of Pacman Frog. Some areas of Peru and Ecuador have it.This frog also goes under various common names like Stolzmann’s Horned Frog and Ecuadorian Horned Frog.
Declaring this species the Ecuadorian Horned Frog confuses people as another species shares that name.
The scientific name for this species is Ceratophrys stolzmanni; not yet any subspecies are known.
Originally recorded in 1882, Austrian herpetologist Franz Steindachner made this discovery.
Ecuadorian Horned Frog
The Ecuadorian Horned Frog is a species of Pacman frog found only in highland forests and freshwater marshes in Ecuador.
The scientific name for this species is Ceratophrys testudo; not yet any subspecies are known. 1945 saw the first account of it.
Pacman Frog Description
Pacman frogs have a diversity of appearances because of their several species, but their many similar traits help one to distinguish them as South American Horned Frogs.
Typical of these frogs are big jaws and round, plump bodies. These traits that some say make the frogs resemble the Pacman figurine from the arcade define their common moniker.
Usually green in hue, these genus of frogs may have patterns or dots of several colors all over their body.
Extensive breeding has been done on these frogs to generate a broad spectrum of color and pattern variants usually lacking in the wild.
Though their sizes vary between species, these frogs have rounder bodies and are essentially somewhat large.
Appearance
The Brazilian Horned Frog looks like a traditional Pacman Frog with its large, rounded, green body featuring brown patterning.
Sometimes the brown patterning is so prominent that the green base color is totally covered-over.
Rising from the eyes, the two horns atop these frogs protrude upward like a raised eyebrow.
Their back also has two upward-pointing vertical ridges starting in the middle.
Among the Pacman frog species kept in captivity most regularly is the Surinam Horned Frog. Up to twenty centimeters long this species can grow.
Another species kept in captivity somewhat regularly is the Cranwell’s Horned Frog. Though this one is smaller, typically only reaching 10cm in length.
The Argentine Horned frog is another Pacman frog maintained in captivity somewhat often. Most often found species here is this one.
Though these frogs can reach a length of more than 15 cm, males usually measure somewhat less than females. Often living in captivity, they can survive for ten years.
These frogs were effectively mouths on legs since their mouths accounted for around half of their bodies. Having said that, this is not wasted as they are ferocious eaters.
Usually having a light to dark green body, these frogs feature complex brown and red patterns throughout.
These captive Pacman Frogs have spawned many morphologies in color and design.
Natural Habitat and Distribution
There are multiple species of Pacman Frog found over much of South America. The only areas lacking are Southern Argentina and Chile.
In the northern parts of South America, these frogs are found in bits of Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guinea.
Their distribution then settles into areas like Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
They are also rather common in some of northern Argentina. It does reach Chile, however their distribution is very limited by the local mountain ranges.
Though every one of these species is distinct, it is difficult to determine exactly the limits of their geographical ranges and environmental niches.
This is so because of the remoteness of some of these sites and the lack of trustworthy information.
Still, based on sightings recorded on I-Naturalist, we may roughly estimate the ranges of every one of these species.
Brazilian Horned Frog calls some of Brazil’s Atlantic Coast home. From Salvador to Sao Paolo, reports of these Pacman Frogs have surfaced.
Though this area is more remote and no sightings have been recorded far from the coast, the distribution of these frogs could somewhat extend inland.
As its name suggests, the Colombian Horned Frog is a species of Pacman Frog limited to specific areas of Colombia.
They also go as the Venezuelan Horned Frog since some parts of Venezuela also feature them.
These frogs can be found in northern Colombia’s cities like Monteria, Cartagena, and Barranquilla.
Distribution
Their distribution then becomes limited to a small area in northeastern Venezuela, however it seems that the local mountain ranges may have cut off it.
Widely scattered over a sizable section of the northern hemisphere of South America, the Horned Frog of Suriname, sometimes called as the Amazonian Horned Frog,
Their northern part of their range includes portions of Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guinea.
Their migration then south into countries like Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, and a good bit of western Brazil.
Cranwell’s Horned Frog calls most of Central and Southern America home.
Pacman this Pacman Among other places, Bolivia, Paraguay, and northern Argentina have frogs. They may also live in a small portion of southwest Brazil.
Joazeiro Horned Frog is a species of Pacman frog existing in some parts of Eastern Brazil.
Although the Pacific Horned Frog is found in both Ecuador and Peru, the Ecuadorian Horned Frog is a Pacman frog found alone in some regions of Ecuador.
The Argentine Horned Frog is among the most often occurring Pacman Frog species. It calls parts of Uruguay and Argentina home. It is also believed to exist in a number of northern Brazilian locations.
Pacman Frogs as Pets
The Pacman Frog can be a great companion for people who are new to maintaining frogs or even seasoned keepers wishing to introduce their abilities to a different species.
These frogs are considered as “low maintenance” pets and are rather easy to care for since they demand much less participation than many other reptiles or amphibians.
This does not imply, though, that you could simply purchase a frog and hope it will look after itself. You still have to see to it they get appropriate treatment.
As we have shown, the genus Pacman boasts multiple separate species of frogs. Among species kept in captivity, some are more popular than others.
Almost exclusively kept as either Argentine, Pet Pacman frogs are Known variously as the Suriname Pacman Frog or the Horned Frog of Cranwell, the Ornate Pacman Frog
Although they are much less common than the others mentioned above, some of the other frogs do sporadically surface in collections.
FAQs
Fascinating amphibian with peculiar look and activity is the Pacman frog, sometimes called Ceratophrys ornata. Here are a few often asked questions on Pacman frogs:
01: What is a Pacman frog?
The Pacman frog is a species of South American frog distinguished from the video game character Pac-Man by its big mouth and round, sturdy body. Its horn-like extensions above the eyes make it also known as the Ornate Horned Frog.
02: What size do Pacman frogs typically reach?
Usually measuring 4 to 7 inches (10 to 18 cm), adult Pacman frogs are Generally speaking, guys are smaller than females.
03: What kind of habitat do Pacman frogs need?
Pacman frogs find a humid, tropical habitat ideal. A terrarium that works well is one that includes a substrate of coconut fiber, sphagnum moss, or dirt combined with sand. To remain hydrated, they also require a shallow water dish.
04: What is the behavior of a Pacman frog like?
Usually lazy, pacman frogs spend most of their time buried under substrate, awaiting prey to approach. Known for their powerful bite, they can become somewhat hostile under provocation.
05: Can you handle a Pacman frog?
Pacman frogs are not typically handleable pets due to their delicate skin and the stress handling can cause. They are best enjoyed by observing rather than handling. If you must handle them, do so gently and minimally, always ensuring your hands are clean and wet to avoid harming their skin.
