African Clawed Frog
Description:The African Clawed Frog is found in East and Southern Africa, along the African Rift Valley. It is found in the countries of South Africa, Namibia, and Angola. This species of frogs is known for its clawed hind legs. Other physical features of African Clawed Frogs include small and non-webbed front limbs, multicoloured with blotches of grey, brown or green, no tongue and the lack of visible ears. Although this species is native to Africa, it is known s an invasive species which had been introduced first to Chile, France, Italy, Indonesia, and many other countries around the world. This species is sexually mature in 10-12 months, and is therefore ready to reproduce. Although this species does not have a specific mating season due to the fact that these frogs can mate at any time, mating most commonly occurs during the springtime. Mating can occur four times per year. Sexual selection is evident in the mating of Clawed Frogs due to the fact that the male frogs must sing a mating song underwater, which is then either accepted or denied by a nearby female.
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Taxonomic Classification:Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata Class: Amphibia Order: Anura Family: Pipidae Genus: Xenopus Species: X. laevis source
An African Clawed Frog eating a fish. These frogs are carnivorous and scavengers, since they eat both living or dead arthropods. They detect their prey with their sensitive fingers, sense of smell, and through slight disturbances in the water. |
Habitat Comparison
Zoo Enclosure |
Frog's Natural Habitat |
The African Clawed Frog lives in grassland ponds found in the rainforest. Their ideal conditions are warm and stagnant ponds, although they are found in streams as well. The area that the frogs live in have an abundant amount of algae on both the surface and underwater. This is accurately depicted in the zoo enclosure at the Toronto Zoo as we see a habitat similar to a pond that is covered in algae as well. One difference between this enclosure and the natural habitat is the size, as ponds are much bigger than the enclosure and usually include a wider variety of organisms.