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African Clawed Frog

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The African clawed frog is also known as the platanna. The African clawed frog is thought to have originated in South Africa, and is today found naturally across the African continent. The African clawed frog has been introduced to the Americas and parts of Europe.

The average adult African clawed frog grows to about 12 cm in length, and weighs around 200g. The African clawed frog spends its whole life in water, except for poking its head up to the surface from time to time.

The African clawed frog can swim at astonishing speeds sideways, backwards, forwards, up and down, and in all other directions. The African clawed frog then catches its prey with its claws aided by its long tongue.

The African clawed frog is often a greenish, grey colour although other colours of the African clawed frog are not uncommon (such as albino). The African clawed frog is known to have a long lifespan for small aquatic animals, and can live up to around 5 to 15 years in the wild. Some adult African clawed frogs have been recorded to live to nearly 30 years old in captivity!

The African clawed frog\'s main food is water bugs and small fish but the African clawed frog is also known to eat its own skin whenever it is shed. African clawed frogs also hunt other small invertebrates such as insects, spiders and worms.

Due to its small size, the African clawed frog has a number of natural predators within its natural environment, that occur both in and out of the water. Small mammals including rodents, cats and dogs, numerous birds and reptiles, all prey on the African clawed frog.

Female African clawed frogs are often nearly double the size of the males, and are able to reproduce more than once a year. After mating, the female African clawed frog can lay thousands of eggs at a time which are held together in the water by a jelly-like substance. After hatching, the African clawed frog tadpoles begin their life in the water until they grow legs and are able to venture out onto the river banks.

Over the years, humans have managed to find a number of uses for the African clawed frog in our day to day lives. The most notable (and probably cruellest) of these practises was the use of the African clawed frog females as a type of pregnancy test, as the hormone produced by human babies (passed on through the mother\'s urine) known as HCG induces ovulation in the female African clawed frog.

African Clawed Frog Comments (3)

Anonymous

"cool animal wish i had one"

brooke s

"I L-O-V-E my african clawed frogs!!!!!!!"

Sam

"Cool animal i want 2 swim like this animal"

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African Clawed Frog Translations

	Cesky Drápatka vodní
	Dansk Xenopus laevis
	Deutsch Krallenfrosch

	English African clawed frog
	Español Xenopus laevis
	Français Xenopus laevis

	Magyar Dél-afrikai karmosbéka
	Nederlands Klauwkikker
	Polski Platana szponiasta

Português
Xenopus laevis

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African Clawed Frog Facts

Kingdom: A level of classifying all living things on earth, as similar species are broken into 5 groups including plants, animals and fungi....	Animalia
Phylum: A level of classifying animals within the animal kingdom. Phylum are further divided into subgroups called classes....	Chordata
Class: A level of classifying animals in a phylum. Classes are then sub-divided into further groups known as orders....	Amphibia
Order: A level used to classify animals. Classes are broken into sub-groups known as order, which are broken down further into families....	Anura
Family: A level of classifying animals within an order. Orders are broken down in families and families are broken down further into smaller groups called genus....	Pipidae
Genus: A level of classifying animals within a family. Families are divided into sub-groups called genus which generally contain one or two animal species....	Xenopus

Scientific Name:	Xenopus Laevis
Type:	Amphibian
Diet:	Carnivore
Size (L):	2.5cm - 12cm (1in - 5in)
Weight:	25g - 220g (1oz - 8oz)
Top Speed:	8km/h (5mph)
Life Span:	8 - 15 years
Lifestyle:	Solitary
Conservation Status: The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species remaining extant either in the present day or the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation s...	Least Concern

Colour:	Brown, Grey, Albino
Skin Type:	Permeable Scales
Favourite Food:	Blood Worm
Habitat: The term habitat is used to describe a specific area where a particular animal lives, within an environment. Many animals have adapted to requiring specific conditions which can only be found in their natural habitat su...	Warm stagnant water with grassland
Average Litter Size:	2,000
Main Prey: When an animal is referred to prey, it means that the animal is either hunted or caught for food. Animals that are referred to as prey are generally hunted by bigger animals, although there are a number of exceptions....	Blood Worm, Water Fleas, Shrimp
Predators: When an animal is referred to as a predator, it means that the animal either hunts or catches other animals. Predatory animals are generally dominant within their environment and will generally hunt animals smaller than...	Snakes, Birds, Small Mammals
Distinctive Features:	Flat body and toxic skin

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