African Clawed Frog

• It was used between 1930 and 1960 as a living pregnancy test, through the hormone hCG.
• It is a key model organism in developmental biology, tetraploid with 36 chromosomes.
• It is entirely aquatic throughout its adult life.
• anatomíaIt has no tongue: it pushes food into its mouth with its front hands.
• historia naturalIt was used in the 20th century as an early pregnancy test, because injecting a pregnant woman's urine made the female of this species lay eggs.
• fisiologíaIt can stay fully submerged in stagnant water and survive long droughts buried in mud until the rains return.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (amphibian)

Habitat & environment

Ponds, lakes and slow-flowing rivers of sub-Saharan Africa; entirely aquatic throughout adult life

Birth weight

Egg ~1.2-1.3 mm; a filter-feeding tadpole after hatching

Size at birth

A filter-feeding tadpole that hangs head-down in the water to feed

Sexual maturity

6-12 months

Gestation / incubation

2-3 days of egg development before hatching

Litter / clutch size

500 to 27,000 eggs per clutch (up to several thousand depending on conditions)

Lifespan in captivity

Documented record of up to 20-30 years in captivity

Sources consulted: Animal Diversity Web; A-Z Animals; Columbia University (invasive species summary); AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); Reptiles' Cove; FrogsToad.com; USGS Species Profile