Welcome to this epic matchup between two formidable amphibians. In one corner, we have the African Bullfrog, known for its size and strength. And in the other corner, we have the Pacman Frog, known for its lightning-fast tongue and voracious appetite.
African Bullfrogs are large frogs with wide mouths that, as you can probably guess, hail from Africa. African Bullfrogs can make extremely loud sounds, and they are often kept as exotic pets due to their size and rarity.
But do these frogs have teeth? Do any frogs have teeth? The answer is yes, African Bullfrogs do have teeth (albeit different from human teeth), and they can use them to bite down very hard on prey. If that is surprising to you, you are not alone. Many people do not realize that frogs have teeth in the first place.
Please note that many states and jurisdictions may have legislation that prevents capturing or owning frogs. Always make sure you have permission to legally own an exotic pet before deciding to adopt one. Capturing wild animals is not advised, as this disrupts local ecosystems. In addition, amphibians may naturally harbor Salmonella and spread it to humans and other pets. These pets are not recommended to be kept alongside children, the elderly, pregnant individuals, or those with a compromised immune system. If you are in the US, please refer to state laws before deciding to adopt an exotic or wild pet.
African Bullfrog: An Overview
African bullfrog, (Pyxicephalus adspersus), species of large frog (family Pyxicephalidae) that is found mainly in Southern Africa. African bullfrogs live in many different habitats, including grasslands, shrublands, freshwater lakes, marshes, and farmland. The animals are sometimes kept as pets.
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The African bullfrog is one of the largest species of frog, second only to the endangered West African goliath frog (Conraua goliath). Male African bullfrogs are much larger than the females and can weigh as much as 2 kg (4 pounds) and can grow as long as 25.5 cm (10 inches). The animals are chubby with large heads and have textured ridges on the skin of their backs.
A male’s dewlap, which is the loose skin hanging from the throat, is yellow or orange, while a female’s dewlap is a cream color. While adults are dull green in color, young African bullfrogs are brightly patterned, often with a yellow stripe down the back. They commonly live 20 years and may live as long as 40 years in captivity.
African bullfrogs can be very aggressive and can puff themselves up to appear even larger if they are frightened or angry. Unlike the unrelated American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus), African bullfrogs do not secrete venom from their parotid glands. They do, however, have fanglike projections on their lower jaw and have a fierce bite.
African bullfrogs are known as burrowing frogs because they spend the majority of their time partially or wholly buried in moist holes they dig with their strong hind legs. In the wet season, in which they are most active, they remain hidden as they wait for prey. African bullfrogs eat insects, small rodents, birds, fish, reptiles, and other frogs. During the dry season the frogs remain underground, where a waterproof cocoon made of dead skin develops around the frog’s body to reduce water loss.
When it rains, the water softens the cocoon, and the frog emerges from this state of estivation (partial hibernation). During mating season, the males employ a loud recognizable bellowing call to locate a mate. Female African bullfrogs lay as many as 4,000 eggs at a time in shallow water. The fat heart-shaped tadpoles emerge from the eggs about two days later. Males watch over their tadpoles as they develop into little frogs, a process that takes about 18 days.
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The majority of the young do not survive this fraught period of metamorphosis; many are consumed by other African bullfrogs (tadpoles and adults are cannibalistic), birds, and fish. Although their population numbers are declining throughout their range, the species is not listed as endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.
African Bullfrog vs. Pacman Frog
Do African Bullfrogs Have Teeth?
Yes. African Bullfrogs do have teeth. They have three different types of teeth. African Bullfrogs have maxillaries, vomerine teeth, and odontoids. Many people don’t think of teeth when they think of frogs, but these frogs have many teeth.
African Bullfrogs have teeth that line their entire mouth on both the top and the bottom. African Bullfrogs are some of the largest frogs in the world, and therefore, they have some of the largest frog teeth in the world.
African Bullfrogs are carnivores. They eat other small animals, such as other frogs, birds, and mice. African Bullfrogs use their large, curved teeth to grip and trap their prey inside of their mouth. Other teeth are short and flat and are used to grind up things like wings and skulls, crushing the prey so that the bullfrog can eat it at its leisure. African Bullfrogs don’t rip and chew like other animals such as dogs, cats, and humans.
True Teeth vs. Other Teeth
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As mentioned, African Bullfrogs have three different types of teeth. Technically, only one of these three is considered to be a true tooth. True teeth are made up of dentin and enamel. Human teeth and dog teeth are classic examples of true teeth. Other things, such as bony extrusions without any pulp or enamel, are not considered to be true teeth, even if they are used as such.
Technically, odontoids and vomerine teeth are not true teeth.
Do African Bullfrogs Bite?
Yes. African Bullfrogs do bite. Most animals with teeth can and will bite. African Bullfrogs are no different. Many people don’t expect to be bitten by a frog, but it can happen.
Most frogs have teeth that are so small or so dull that they cannot really bite humans. African Bullfrogs are large enough and have enough teeth with which they can bite humans, and it can hurt. African Bullfrogs can bite if they feel threatened or if they do not want to be handled.
Do African Bullfrogs Have a Strong Bite?
Yes. African Bullfrogs have a strong bite. Since the teeth of the African Bullfrog are designed to trap and hold prey, they can produce a lot of force with their teeth. If you are not expecting it, an African Bullfrog can get a good bite in on your finger.
Sometimes, a bullfrog will bite and trap your finger, thinking that it is a worm or other type of prey.
Are African Bullfrogs Dangerous to Humans?
No. African Bullfrogs are not dangerous to humans. The bite of an African Bullfrog can be startling. In the worst-case scenario, the bullfrog could draw blood or even cause a bite deep enough to warrant stitches.
However, most of the time, African Bullfrogs are harmless. They are not toxic, they are not poisonous, and their bites are not strong enough to cause lasting damage. That means that overall, these animals are not dangerous to humans.
Important: In the worst-case scenario, the bullfrog could draw blood or even cause a bite deep enough to warrant stitches.
African Bullfrogs have three different types of teeth that they use to capture, hold, and kill their prey. African Bullfrogs are carnivores that use their teeth to help them hunt and eat their food. If you are not careful, African Bullfrogs can bite you, which can be a nasty shock.
Pacman Frog: A Close Relative
South American horned frogs (Ceratophrys) can capture and swallow whole animals up to their own body size, including other frogs, lizards, snakes and rodents. Because of their voracious appetite and stout shape dominated by a huge mouth, horned frogs are often referred to as Pacman frogs after the popular arcade game. This, along with their attractive colour patterns, has made them popular as pets.
Associated with the impressive bite forces of horned frogs and their ambush lifestyle are several important anatomical traits. They have a heavily built skull in which many of the connections between individual skull bones fuse together as the animal grows.
Along the upper jaw is a battery of small but sharp and recurved teeth, and at the front of the lower jaw is a pair of large bony fang-like projections (called odontoids). The sticky tongue of the horned frogs has been compared to pressure-sensitive adhesives and some species have plates of bone within the skin of their back.
The horns in horned frogs are small pointed structures above the eyes. Horned frogs are not currently considered endangered but some species are considered near threatened. Like many animals they are suffering a loss of natural habitat.
They are also often killed by local people because of false beliefs that they are venomous, and collection for the pet trade may also be significant.
Just how powerful is the bite?
Bite force was measured using a special device called a force transducer. This makes it easy to place the free ends of the device into the frog’s mouth so that it bites forcefully, and the device measures the amount of applied force. Our study is the first to measure bite force in frogs.
Bite force has been measured in a variety of other animals including sharks, alligators, turtles, lizards, tuatara, bats, hyenas, rodents and worm amphibians.
Our study is also unusual in that the relationship between size and bite force was measured using multiple measurements from the same individuals from different points during their growth rather than just using a sample of different-sized individuals.
We found that small horned frogs - with a head width of 45mm - can bite with a force of 30 Newtons (N). That would feel like having three litres of water balanced on the end of your fingernail. More impressively, the largest horned frogs from Brazil - with a head width of 100mm - are calculated to bite with a force of 500N.
A bite like this is similar to that of reptiles and mammals with heads of similar size.
In the wild they will sit patiently, partially buried and well hidden, and attempt to ambush anything unfortunate enough to wander in front of them. If just out of reach, the horned frog may lift one or both rear legs over its head and wiggle its toes to attract the attention of the potential meal.
Once the victim is in range, the frog will rapidly lunge forwards with a wide open mouth. The extremely adhesive tongue sticks to the prey and retracts, pulling the prey into the mouth, and the huge jaws clamp shut with great force to prevent escape.
This mode of predation contrasts with the majority of the more than 6,800 living species of frog that do not hide to avoid detection by prey, have weak jaws, and rely primarily on their tongue to catch small insects.
Meet Beelzebufo: The Devil Toad
Bite forces of some ancient frogs may have been even more impressive than those of today’s South American horned frogs. Beelzebufo ampinga is a large heavily built frog from the Late Cretaceous period of Madagascar with a skull at least 150mm wide.
Like Ceratophrys it has a robust ornamented skull and teeth with a single point (not two points like most amphibians). Detailed comparisons with the available skeleton suggest that its closest living relatives might be the South American horned frogs.
When the relationship between bite force and size in the South American horned frogs is applied to the skull width of Beelzebufo the value obtained is 2,200N. A bite of this force is comparable to estimates for mammalian predators such as wolves and female lions, and within the realm of bite forces measured for crocodiles and turtles with similar skull widths.
For context, the bite force of an adult human male averages only about 25% that of a large Beelzebufo.
Beelzebufo means “Devil toad,” so named because of its fearsome carnivorous capabilities and its overall similarities to certain toads of today. This Madagascar titan weighed over 7 lbs and exceeded 9” snout-to-vent (=SVL, the measurement used by frog researchers to discuss body length).
Though formally named in 2008 by a multidisciplinary team of scientists (Evans et al. 2008), the first of its bones was discovered in 1993 by Dr.
Though we don’t have all of Beezlebufo’s limbs, we have enough to suspect that they moved like Pac-Man frogs, which walk more than they hop, thanks to their heavy heads. They are ambush predators of the highest order, sitting patiently until the right moment to strike with that massive mouth, piercing prey with sharp teeth and giant tongues.
You can google “Pac-Man frog eating” and find dozens of videos of people feeding their pet Pac-Man various creatures. If it moved like a Pac-Man frog, perhaps it engaged in pedal luring? Modern ceratophrynids have been observed wiggling their toes to attract prey!
