Budgett's Frog

Budgett's frog is a large, highly aquatic frog native to the seasonally flooded wetlands of the Gran Chaco region of South America, spanning parts of Argentina, Paraguay, and Bolivia. Its body is flattened and almost entirely mouth, an adaptation for lying in ambush on the pond bottom before lunging upward at passing prey, including fish and other frogs, with a strike wide enough to take surprisingly large items. When threatened or handled it is known to open its mouth wide, inflate its body, emit a sharp scream-like call, and bite defensively hard enough to draw blood, a combative temperament that has earned it nicknames referencing horror-film characters in the exotic pet trade. During the region's long dry season it burrows into mud and secretes a protective cocoon of shed skin layers around its body, entering a dormant state called aestivation until the rains return.