Frog of the Week

Budgett’s Frog (Lepidobatrachus laevis)

Photo by Ltshears

Common Name: Budgett’s Frog
Scientific Name: Lepidobatrachus laevis
Family: Ceratophryidae
Location: Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay
Size: Females reach 3.9 inches (100 mm) while males only reach half of that

The Budgett’s Frog is a very weird looking frog and is found in the pet trade because of it. It is mostly an aquatic frog but during the dry months, the frog makes a cocoon out of un-shed skin to prevent it from drying out.

Once the dry season ends, the Budgett’s Frogs come out and mate. They can lay around 1400 eggs during a single breeding event. The eggs then hatch later into carnivorous tadpoles which is rare for frogs.

It is named after John Samuel Budgett all the way back in 1899. It is found in the Gran Chaco region of South America.



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