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A large brown smoky jungle frog sitting on a mossy rock.
Photo: Ltshears, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Smoky Jungle Frog

Leptodactylus pentadactylus

A big South American frog up to seven inches long that puffs up and shrieks to scare predators.

🐸 Frogs
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About the Smoky Jungle Frog

Smoky jungle frogs can grow up to 7 inches long. They have brownish backs with black markings and cream-colored bellies. They live in tropical lowland forests, swamps, riverbanks and marshes of northern South America. During the day they hide in burrows, leaf litter or under logs, and at night they hunt insects and small reptiles, amphibians, mammals and even birds.[1]

Quick facts

Scientific name
Leptodactylus pentadactylus[1]
Size
Up to 7 inches long.[1]
Diet
Carnivore. Insects, small reptiles, amphibians, mammals and birds.[1]
Habitat
Tropical lowland forests, swamps, riverbanks and marshes.[1]
Where it lives
Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Brazil and French Guiana.[1]
Group life
Nocturnal.[1]
Babies
Up to 1,000 eggs in a foam nest near water.[1]
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN Red List, assessed 2008).[2]

Fun facts

  • Smoky jungle frogs shriek when threatened.[1]
  • They lay eggs in a nest of foam.[1]
  • They're big enough to eat small birds.[1]

Vocabulary

foam nest
A bubbly mass some frogs make to hold their eggs.
mucus
A slippery, slimy liquid.
leaf litter
Fallen leaves on the forest floor.
nocturnal
Active mainly at night.
amphibian
A cold-blooded animal, like a frog or salamander, that usually starts life in water.

See it in person

Sources

  1. [1] San Francisco Zoo & Gardens. “Smoky jungle frog.” https://www.sfzoo.org/smoky-jungle-frog/ (accessed 2026-10-02)
  2. [2] IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Leptodactylus pentadactylus (Smoky Jungle Frog).” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/57154/11593184 (accessed 2026-10-02)

Facts last checked 2026-10-02.

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