Wildlife is incredibly fascinating, and on this Earth, there exist a plethora of diverse animal species—all capable of inspiring awe in their own unique ways.
Among these wonderful creatures that can be very surprising to us humans are frogs. These amphibians come in a variety of shapes and sizes, have bodies that are vibrantly colourful and completely transparent, and possess amazing traits that make them very interesting to the scientific community.
While we are aware of hundreds of distinct frog species, some have still remained hidden in tropical forests around the world, and continue to be discovered to this day.
Speaking of discoveries, worldwide social media users recently came across a humongous frog—one as large as a human baby!
Found at a remote location on the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific, this jaw-dropping frog was spotted and photographed by a group that was on a quest to hunt a wild pig.
The photo depicts a small boy holding this unbelievable frog specimen. It was posted by a resident named Jimmy Hugo, who hails from a nearby district of Honiara on the outskirts of the Solomon Islands' capital. Hugo is a Timber milling operations manager, while the boy in the image is his son.
"At first, I thought only a few people would see it and then suddenly I saw lots and lots of people commenting. I was very surprised to see how people reacted to the picture," Hugo told ABC News.
The frog species is scientifically known as Cornufer guppyi, but the locals refer to it as bush chicken. It is commonly known as a giant webbed frog, and it is usually hunted for meat, which can fetch huge amounts through the sale.
Ever since its upload on Facebook, the picture has gone viral on social media, having already garnered thousands of likes and shares. The most common reaction to the photo is that of shock and surprise, as most people have never seen such a large frog before.
Wildlife experts, too, have been left amazed by the size of this giant. “I've never seen one that big. It's quite uncommon for them to get to that size so this one must have been quite old,” said Jodi Rowley, the curator of amphibian and reptile conservation biology at the Australian Museum.
As per experts, very few known species of frog can grow up to this length. The most commonly known species that gets this big is the goliath bullfrog, which is found in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. It can grow up to the length of 36 cm and weigh over 3 kg. However, ecologists state that such giant frogs are becoming less common due to disturbances in their habitat.
Frogs are among the most diverse animals on land, with more than 6,000 species distributed across various parts of the globe. They are so diverse, that they can easily outnumber the two other groups of amphibians—salamanders and caecilians. Due to their incredible adaptability, they can be found in tropical rainforests, deserts, high altitude areas, coastal regions, and almost everywhere else, except Antarctica.
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