Dataset Information

Bite force in the horned frog (Ceratophrys cranwelli) with implications for extinct giant frogs.

ABSTRACT: Of the nearly 6,800 extant frog species, most have weak jaws that play only a minor role in prey capture. South American horned frogs (Ceratophrys) are a notable exception. Aggressive and able to consume vertebrates their own size, these "hopping heads" use a vice-like grip of their jaws to restrain and immobilize prey. Using a longitudinal experimental design, we quantified the ontogenetic profile of bite-force performance in post-metamorphic Ceratophrys cranwelli. Regression slopes indicate positive allometric scaling of bite force with reference to head and body size, results that concur with scaling patterns across a diversity of taxa, including fish and amniotes (lizards, tuatara, turtles, crocodylians, rodents). Our recovered scaling relationship suggests that exceptionally large individuals of a congener (C. aurita) and extinct giant frogs (Beelzebufo ampinga, Late Cretaceous of Madagascar) probably could bite with forces of 500 to 2200?N, comparable to medium to large-sized mammalian carnivores.

SUBMITTER: Lappin AK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5607344 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Bite force in the horned frog (Ceratophrys cranwelli) with implications for extinct giant frogs.

Lappin A Kristopher AK Wilcox Sean C SC Moriarty David J DJ Stoeppler Stephanie A R SAR Evans Susan E SE Jones Marc E H MEH

Scientific reports 20170920 1

Of the nearly 6,800 extant frog species, most have weak jaws that play only a minor role in prey capture. South American horned frogs (Ceratophrys) are a notable exception. Aggressive and able to consume vertebrates their own size, these "hopping heads" use a vice-like grip of their jaws to restrain and immobilize prey. Using a longitudinal experimental design, we quantified the ontogenetic profile of bite-force performance in post-metamorphic Ceratophrys cranwelli. Regression slopes indicate po ...[more]

PMID: 28931936

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Dataset Information

Bite force in the horned frog (Ceratophrys cranwelli) with implications for extinct giant frogs.

Publications

Bite force in the horned frog (Ceratophrys cranwelli) with implications for extinct giant frogs.

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