Ceratophrys ornata

Ornate Horned Frogs are large frogs, up to 10 inches in length. They are strong and pugnacious, with a huge mouth, large teeth, and a wide body. They are covered with bumpy warts on their upper sides. They are intricately colored, with geometric patterns of yellow, red, and green on a dark background (somewhat resembling a gourd!). The underside ranges from pink to yellow, and the throat is mottled in gray. The colors seem conspicuous when the frog is out of its natural habitat, (helping to serve as a warning to predators), but the color scheme blends very well into its home setting. The powerful limbs are short, the digits blunt, and an enlarged metatarsal tubercle or spade is present on each hind leg. Its eyelids are drawn up into small 'horns.' These are really just flaps of skin and not hard or sharp at all. The eyes are set as much as three times higher from the lower jaw than in most frogs, enabling this frog to completely burrow into a loose substrate with just the eyes exposed. Females are slightly longer than males.