The goliath frog, otherwise known commonly as the giant slippery frog and the goliath bullfrog, is a species of frog in the family Conrauidae. The goliath frog is the largest living frog. Specimens can grow up to 32 centimetres (12.6 in) in length from snout to vent, and weigh up to 3.25 kilograms (7.2 lb). This species has a relatively small habitat range in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. Its numbers are dwindling due to habitat destruction, collection for food, and the pet trade.
Goliath frog
Preserved specimen at the Harvard Museum of Natural History
Conraua goliath sample
A skeleton of a Goliath frog
Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniotic, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all tetrapods, excluding the amniotes. All extant (living) amphibians belong to the monophyletic subclass Lissamphibia, with three living orders: Anura (frogs), Urodela (salamanders), and Gymnophiona (caecilians). Evolved to be mostly semiaquatic, amphibians have adapted to inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living in freshwater, wetland or terrestrial ecosystems. Their life cycle typically starts out as aquatic larvae with gills known as tadpoles, but some species have developed behavioural adaptations to bypass this.
Image: Litoria phyllochroa
Image: Buettneria AMNH
Image: Notophthalmus viridescens PCCA20040816 3983A
Image: Dermophis mexicanus