Banded Bull Frog

Image: Thomas Brown
Kaloula pulchra

A small frog with an ENORMOUS frog bursting to get out!

Image: Thomas Brown
Also known as the Asian Painted Frog

These southeast Asian frogs reach a little under 8 cm (3 inches) long.

Image: Alex Figueroa
Also known as the Rice Frog

They spend much of the day hidden in leaf litter in the forest or in rice fields. They come out at night to eat.

Image: Thomas Brown
Also known as the Malaysian Narrowmouth Toad

They will happily sit around and snap up a couple hundred ants or termites, one... by... one. I can't even do that with popcorn.

Image: Patrick Randall
Also known as the Piebald Digging Frog

They can bury themselves underground if they want, which is useful when the weather takes a turn for the worse. And for a frog, that means too much dry weather and not enough rain and soggy humidity. The very opposite of a picnic. That's why frogs and picnics don't get along.

Image: Larry Oien
Also known as the Chubby Frog

When they're annoyed by a predator or a giant hand, they puff themselves up and secrete a kind of toxic glue. Yuck! That'll show 'em!

And then...

Image: Bernard DUPONT

The breeding season comes around. Now the males puff themselves up to an astonishing degree. Their little heads poke out of a dangerously inflated, floating beach ball, until...

Image: Bernard DUPONT
Also known as the Bubble Frog

They shift some of that air into their vocal sac. Which becomes dangerously inflated, of course.

Video: Martin Sand

Also known as the Ox Frog

This spectacle results in a call that sounds a bit like a cow. It attracts females who apparently like the sound of a big, noisy gas-belly.

Image: 潘立傑 LiChieh Pan

Eggs are laid and once they hatch, the tadpoles develop into little froggies in a matter of weeks. In our time we've seen several frogs that spend almost all their lives underground and only emerge to breed after heavy rain. Their tadpoles also grow very quickly into small froglets, so as to make use of ponds before they dry up. Banded Bull Frogs are just like them, except they climb up to the surface every night!

In any case, we now have teeny frogs with enormous frogs trying to get out. But we needn't worry...

Image: Thomas Brown

Take one look at that face. Is it not the very definition of determination?

Someone should do a statue!