Grumpy Megophrid

Long-nosed horned frog (Megophrys nasuta) - Poring Nature Reserve, Malaysia

 

I have seen many incredible animals in Borneo; elephants, orangutans, leopard cats, bearded pigs but despite the charismatic mammalian fauna the Horned frog remains one of my favorite bornean critters. These frogs spend nearly all their time on the forest floor where they sit and wait for prey to wander near them, they then swallow their prey whole with their enormous mouths. Interestingly the tadpoles of this species also have large mouths but are not at all predatory, they have modified lips & mouth structures that form a funnel which funnels various particles such as pollen, dust, and bacteria into the tadpoles mouth where the good bits are filtered out. A rather unusual feeding mechanism among tadpoles and not what i would have expected from the tadpole stage of these impressive frowning frogs.

 

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