The African Bullfrog (Pyxiecephalus adspersus) is one of the largest frogs in Africa. Adult males may reach 23cm or more and may weigh over two kilograms. Females are much smaller, whereas in nearly all other species of frogs, the female is larger than the male.

The African bullfrog is found mostly in open grasslands and at low elevations in the sub-Saharan African countries of Nigeria, Somalia, lower Sudan, Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi, Zambia, Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa (except for the south-western Cape).

The frogs have rounded bodies with broad heads and have dark olive-green skin on the back with a cream or orange-coloured under-carriage, which it uses to camouflage itself. Adult frogs are very aggressive and inflate themselves when provoked.

Male bullfrogs have a bright yellow throat while the throat of the female is cream colour. It is not unusual for African bullfrogs to live for 35 years or more.

Their camouflage allows them to blend into the environment while waiting for prey, which can consist of various insects, amphibians, small reptiles and mammals. They are known to bite inquisitive humans using tooth-like projections on their lower jaw.

In extreme cases of food scarcity or overpopulation, they even resort to cannibalism.

They aestivate during the dry season but come up to the surface to spawn after the first rains. The period of aestivation is around eight months, though some experts claim that they can remain underground for more than five years.

Natural predators of the tadpoles and juvenile frogs are mostly waterfowl, other terrestrial birds and snakes, while herons, other large birds and jackals prey on the adult frogs.

The females lay 3000 to 4000 eggs in shallow waters and these usually hatch around two days later. However, survival rates of these frogs are thought to be very low.