Amphibians
Malayan Horned Frog
Megophrys nasuta · also called long-nosed horned frog, Malayan leaf frog, giant Asian horned toad
The Malayan horned frog is one of the great disappearing acts of the Southeast Asian rainforest. It is a big, heavy frog — a large female is the size of a fist — and yet on the forest floor it is almost impossible to see, because every part of it has been shaped to look like a dead leaf.
Overview
Megophrys nasuta lives in lowland and hill rainforest from southern Thailand through Malaysia and Singapore to Sumatra and Borneo, usually close to clear forest streams. Females reach about 12–13 cm and males only 7–9 cm. The frog is a dull leaf-brown, with sharp skin points over each eye and on the snout, ridged flanks, and an angular body that breaks up its shape.
A leaf with a mouth
The horned frog is a pure ambush predator. It shuffles backward into loose leaf litter until only its eyes and pointed snout are showing, then waits — sometimes for a whole night — for prey to walk past. When something does, the strike is fast and the mouth is enormous. Recorded prey includes large spiders, scorpions, crabs, snails, lizards, small rodents, and other frogs.
Sound before sight
In the breeding season the forest floor rings with a loud metallic honk, like a single press of a car horn, repeated from the litter. The callers are almost invisible even to someone standing over them. Picked up, a horned frog often opens its mouth wide and gives a startling scream.
Tadpoles at the surface
The eggs are laid in still water, and the tadpoles hang just under the surface with an upturned, funnel-shaped mouth held at the waterline, filtering floating particles — a very different lifestyle from the algae-grazing tadpoles of most frogs.
Status
The species is listed as Least Concern but declining. It is entirely dependent on intact rainforest, especially in the lowlands, and disappears where forest is logged or converted to plantation.
Malayan Horned Frog: common questions
Why does the Malayan horned frog have horns?
The horns are not weapons and not true horns. They are soft, pointed extensions of skin over the eyes and on the snout, and their job is disguise. A dead leaf on the rainforest floor has a pointed tip and irregular edges, and the frog's snout flap and eyelid points give it the same broken, angular outline. Combined with the brown colour, the body ridges, and a habit of sitting perfectly still half-buried in litter, the effect is that a large frog simply disappears. Predators such as snakes and birds hunt largely by spotting movement and recognisable shapes, so an animal that looks like plant debris and does not move is often passed over completely.
Is the Malayan horned frog dangerous or venomous?
No. It has no venom and no strong skin toxins that matter to people, and it cannot bite hard enough to injure a human, though a big female has a wide mouth and may gape and squeal if handled. The main reason not to handle one is for the frog's sake. Like all amphibians it breathes and absorbs water through its skin, which is easily damaged by dry or salty hands, sunscreen, or insect repellent. In the wild the sensible approach is to look, photograph, and leave it in place among the leaves where its camouflage protects it.
What do Malayan horned frog tadpoles eat?
They are surface feeders. The tadpole's mouth is turned upward into a funnel that sits at the waterline, and the animal hangs just below the surface skimming particles of floating food, pollen, and fine debris from the surface film. This is unusual; most frog tadpoles graze algae from rocks and leaves or filter the open water. The specialised mouth means the tadpoles need calm water, so they develop in quiet pools, backwaters, and the still edges of forest streams rather than in fast current.
Can you keep a Malayan horned frog as a pet?
They are kept by experienced amphibian hobbyists, but they are demanding. They need a large, deep layer of damp leaf litter and substrate to burrow into, cool and very humid air, clean dechlorinated water, and a steady supply of appropriately large live prey such as roaches and, for adults, the occasional pink mouse. They are inactive sit-and-wait animals, not display pets, and wild-caught individuals often carry parasites and settle poorly. Captive-bred frogs from a reputable source are a far better choice, and buyers should check that any animal is not wild-collected from declining forest populations.