Huge ‘aggressive’ frog — that ‘will jump at an elephant’ — discovered as new species
As a canopy of stars unfurled across the landscape of Namibia, a “golden” creature sat in a shallow pond. The animal’s size and “aggressive” nature made it easy to spot.
When scientists found the huge frog, it turned out to be a new species.
Researchers visited several sites in the southern African countries of Namibia and Botswana as part of a wildlife survey, according to a study published March 12 in the peer-reviewed African Journal of Herpetology.
During the visits, researchers found several large, “golden”-colored frogs that didn’t match any known records, the study said. They took a closer look at the animals and realized they’d discovered a new species of African bullfrog: Pyxicephalus beytelli, or Beytell’s bullfrog.
“(It) is the biggest frog discovered worldwide in 104 years,” the study’s lead co-author Louis du Preez told McClatchy News.
Beytell’s bullfrogs are “large” and “robust,” reaching over 8 inches in length, the study said. Du Preez said the largest specimen weighed about 2.2 pounds.
Overall, the new species has a “golden yellow” coloring with “black markings” and a “dark orange” groin, researchers said. Some had a darker “asparagus green” coloring with “silver-blue” blotches, but all of the frogs had a “distinct” line running down their backs.
Beytell’s bullfrogs are “quite aggressive,” du Preez said. The male frogs “stay with their tadpoles and defend them against any intruders. They will jump at an elephant or any other (animal).”
The new species “eats small birds, rodents, snakes and other frogs and insects,” du Preez said.
Beytell’s bullfrogs have a “strongly pulsed,” “whoop”-like call, the study said. The frogs are most active during the day, but researchers found them at night in or near shallow ponds in grasslands and savanna woodlands.
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The new species likely breeds during the day and includes “males fighting” and “chasing other males out of their territories,” the study said. Researchers did not find any female Beytell’s bullfrogs or observe any mating rituals.
Researchers said they named the new species after Ben Beytell, a conservationist in Namibia who was “instrumental in the proclamation of the Khaudum National Park” where the new species was first discovered.
So far, Beytell’s bullfrogs have been found in Angola, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia but likely have a wider range, the study said.
These four neighboring countries are in southern Africa. Angola and Namibia are along the western coast, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. Botswana and Zambia are farther inland.
The new species was identified by its teeth, skin texture, size, coloring, call and other subtle physical features, the study said. DNA analysis found the new species had at least 5% genetic divergence from other African bullfrogs.
The research team included Louis du Preez, Edward Netherlands, Mark-Oliver Rödel and Alan Channing.
This story was originally published March 15, 2024 at 6:06 AM with the headline "Huge ‘aggressive’ frog — that ‘will jump at an elephant’ — discovered as new species."
