Frogs have seen great tectonic shifts in the Earth’s surface, yet have flourished through the Ice Ages and the meteorite crash that killed the dinosaurs. They have survived devastating climate changes and other catastrophes that destroyed many stronger species. They can be found in a variety of locations, ranging from our urban cities to deserts, mountain tops, and lush tropical jungles to the frozen Arctic.
Types of Frogs
Frogs are among the most incredible diverse animals on Earth. Although most of us are familiar with only the common green and brown frogs and toads, there are many amazing, extraordinary looking species on our planet. The tomato frog, for example, native to Madagascar, is as red as tomato sauce! Its bright colour is meant to warn predators that it would be extremely dangerous to make a meal of it!
Glass frogs are nocturnal tree frogs that live in the jungles of Central and South America. They are so called because the
skin on the underside of their body is translucent, like glass. Through this skin, the frog’s internal organs, including its
beating heart can be seen. The turtle frog, as its name indicates, looks like a turtle that has lost its shell. It has a short, blunt snout, little beady eyes, and short, fat limbs. There are even frogs that seem to fly. The Wallace’s flying frog leaps and glides from tree to tree by spreading out its huge webbed feet that act as parachutes. These amazing creatures that are found in the dense jungles of Malaysia, rarely venture to the ground, except to mate and lay eggs.
The Surinam toad is the world’s flattest amphibian - in fact, it looks as if a road roller has gone over its body! Yet this frog’s
unusual shape helps hide it among the leaves and plant debris in the streams it inhabits in the Amazon River Basin of
South America. The blue poison arrow frog, found in Brazil, is one of the entirely blue land animals on Earth.
Like all amphibians, frogs are coldblooded, which means that their body temperatures change with the temperature of
their surroundings. When winter sets in and it becomes cold, some frogs dig burrows underground, or in the mud at the bottom of ponds. They hibernate in these burrows until spring, staying perfectly still, and hardly breathing. The Australian waterholding frog, another remarkable specimen,
is a desert dweller that can wait patiently for up to seven years for rain! The Goliath frog found in the West African Cameroons, is the biggest frog in the world, and has a
body that is 30cm long.
Frogs and their Usefulness
Few people realize what a critical role frogs play in the control of agricultural pests and carriers of disease like mosquitoes. They eat small insects and invertebrates, and are themselves the food source for a range of reptiles, birds and mammals, including humans. In French and Cantonese cuisine, frogs’ legs are considered a delicacy. Therefore, frogs are a vital link in the food chain, and are an important element of many ecosystems.
As frogs take in water and air through their skin, they make good environmental indicators, and have often served as an alert to changes in water quality and the environment. On May 5th, 2008 many Chinese had noticed thousands of frogs moving through busy traffic on busy roads in Central China.
The government announced that it was merely a mass migration of frogs, but on the 12th of May, at about 2:45 pm, the Central China region recorded a 7.8 magnitude quake which occurred in Sichuan province, killing nearly 10,000 people. Scientists studying a colony of toads living in an Italian lake found that they suddenly disappeared five days before a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the town of
L’Aquila in Central Italy on 6th April 2009. The town of L’Aquila is 74 km from the lake!
Since frogs are especially susceptible to environmental disturbances, they are considered accurate indicators of environmental stress - the health of frogs is thought to be indicative of the health of the biosphere as a whole.
Frogs are widely used in scientific experiments and approximately 10% of Nobel Prizes in physiology and medicine have resulted from investigations using frogs. For example, eighteenth-century biologist Luigi Galvani is believed to have discovered the link between electricity and the nervous system by studying frogs.
Frogs and Toads
The words frog and toad are often used interchangeably. But though both frogs and toads belong to the same animal group, there are some differences between them. Frogs must necessarily live next to a water body, but toads live comfortably on land. Frogs are slimy creatures with smooth, moist skins. Toads have rough, dry, bumpy skins. Frogs have sleek long bodies and long, muscular legs that make
them brilliant jumpers. Toads, on the other hand, have short, squat bodies, so they can only walk, run after a fashion, and hop. A frog’s eyes are round and bulging, and placed high up
on its face. Toads have oval eyes that are placed lower down. Frogs have tiny teeth in the upper jaw, but toads have no teeth at all. Both toads and frogs lay their eggs in water, and their offspring are called tadpoles. But while frogs lay eggs in clusters, toads lay their eggs in lines.
The Golden Frog
The golden frog of Panama is a national symbol in that country. Its image appears on state lottery tickets and in local mythology. Locals believe that seeing this rare frog brings good fortune, and when it dies, it turns to pure gold! In 2010, the Panamanian Government passed legislation recognizing August 14th as ‘National Golden Frog Day’.
FACTS
The ancestors of frogs have roamed our Earth for 190 million years!
Frogs can see forwards, sideways, and upwards all at the same time.
Frogs don’t actually drink water with their mouths. They drink it through their skin!
A group of frogs is called an army.
If you suffer from ranidaphobia, you have a fear of frogs.
Types of Frogs
Frogs are among the most incredible diverse animals on Earth. Although most of us are familiar with only the common green and brown frogs and toads, there are many amazing, extraordinary looking species on our planet. The tomato frog, for example, native to Madagascar, is as red as tomato sauce! Its bright colour is meant to warn predators that it would be extremely dangerous to make a meal of it!
Glass frogs are nocturnal tree frogs that live in the jungles of Central and South America. They are so called because the
skin on the underside of their body is translucent, like glass. Through this skin, the frog’s internal organs, including its
beating heart can be seen. The turtle frog, as its name indicates, looks like a turtle that has lost its shell. It has a short, blunt snout, little beady eyes, and short, fat limbs. There are even frogs that seem to fly. The Wallace’s flying frog leaps and glides from tree to tree by spreading out its huge webbed feet that act as parachutes. These amazing creatures that are found in the dense jungles of Malaysia, rarely venture to the ground, except to mate and lay eggs.
The Surinam toad is the world’s flattest amphibian - in fact, it looks as if a road roller has gone over its body! Yet this frog’s
unusual shape helps hide it among the leaves and plant debris in the streams it inhabits in the Amazon River Basin of
South America. The blue poison arrow frog, found in Brazil, is one of the entirely blue land animals on Earth.
Like all amphibians, frogs are coldblooded, which means that their body temperatures change with the temperature of
their surroundings. When winter sets in and it becomes cold, some frogs dig burrows underground, or in the mud at the bottom of ponds. They hibernate in these burrows until spring, staying perfectly still, and hardly breathing. The Australian waterholding frog, another remarkable specimen,
is a desert dweller that can wait patiently for up to seven years for rain! The Goliath frog found in the West African Cameroons, is the biggest frog in the world, and has a
body that is 30cm long.
Frogs and their Usefulness
Few people realize what a critical role frogs play in the control of agricultural pests and carriers of disease like mosquitoes. They eat small insects and invertebrates, and are themselves the food source for a range of reptiles, birds and mammals, including humans. In French and Cantonese cuisine, frogs’ legs are considered a delicacy. Therefore, frogs are a vital link in the food chain, and are an important element of many ecosystems.
As frogs take in water and air through their skin, they make good environmental indicators, and have often served as an alert to changes in water quality and the environment. On May 5th, 2008 many Chinese had noticed thousands of frogs moving through busy traffic on busy roads in Central China.
The government announced that it was merely a mass migration of frogs, but on the 12th of May, at about 2:45 pm, the Central China region recorded a 7.8 magnitude quake which occurred in Sichuan province, killing nearly 10,000 people. Scientists studying a colony of toads living in an Italian lake found that they suddenly disappeared five days before a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the town of
L’Aquila in Central Italy on 6th April 2009. The town of L’Aquila is 74 km from the lake!
Since frogs are especially susceptible to environmental disturbances, they are considered accurate indicators of environmental stress - the health of frogs is thought to be indicative of the health of the biosphere as a whole.
Frogs are widely used in scientific experiments and approximately 10% of Nobel Prizes in physiology and medicine have resulted from investigations using frogs. For example, eighteenth-century biologist Luigi Galvani is believed to have discovered the link between electricity and the nervous system by studying frogs.
Frogs and Toads
The words frog and toad are often used interchangeably. But though both frogs and toads belong to the same animal group, there are some differences between them. Frogs must necessarily live next to a water body, but toads live comfortably on land. Frogs are slimy creatures with smooth, moist skins. Toads have rough, dry, bumpy skins. Frogs have sleek long bodies and long, muscular legs that make
them brilliant jumpers. Toads, on the other hand, have short, squat bodies, so they can only walk, run after a fashion, and hop. A frog’s eyes are round and bulging, and placed high up
on its face. Toads have oval eyes that are placed lower down. Frogs have tiny teeth in the upper jaw, but toads have no teeth at all. Both toads and frogs lay their eggs in water, and their offspring are called tadpoles. But while frogs lay eggs in clusters, toads lay their eggs in lines.
The Golden Frog
The golden frog of Panama is a national symbol in that country. Its image appears on state lottery tickets and in local mythology. Locals believe that seeing this rare frog brings good fortune, and when it dies, it turns to pure gold! In 2010, the Panamanian Government passed legislation recognizing August 14th as ‘National Golden Frog Day’.
FACTS
