What does a person know about a frog and its lifestyle? Monotonous croaking in summer evenings, unpresentable appearance (unpleasant to pick up), bulging eyes and mosquitoes as your favorite food (at least as shown in cartoons) - these are the main associations with the word “frog”. But interestingly: is a frog an animal or an insect?
Frog: external characteristics
Real frogs are the most numerous representatives of the amphibian class. Different in size (body length from 30 to 250 mm), they are common throughout the world, with the exception of Antarctica and Australia.
Belonging to the family of tailless amphibians, frogs number more than 3,500 species that share common external characteristics. These are teeth on the
upper jaw, mild tuberosity of the skin, swimming membranes on the hind legs. The frog’s head is with two huge bulging eyes, which are protected by three eyelids (lower, upper and transparent blinking membrane) and are much more mobile than fish. Before the eyes, there are through nostrils equipped with valves and opening into the oral cavity.
Is a frog an animal or an insect?
Such a peculiar structure of the head helps the frog to discreetly track its prey: plunging into water, the animal exposes its eyes and nostrils, breathes in this way and, looking at everything around, patiently awaits its potential lunch. The organ of hearing of a quack is the eardrum located behind the eyes . A glass frog with its completely transparent skin is the most striking example by which one can study the internal structure of the organs of an amphibian body. Through completely transparent skin, you can clearly observe all the insides. Judging by the above description, to the question “is a frog an animal or an insect?”, You can give a clear and confident answer: of course, an animal!
Amphibian sizes have a wide range. The smallest is the representative of Cuba: its length is 8.5-12 mm. The largest amphibian is the goliath frog, a resident of Cameroon. The weight of the most outstanding representative of the species was 3 kg 660 grams with a total length (with outstretched paws) of 87 cm. He loves such a large specimen “in a big way”, preferring crystal clear water and regally, as if on a pedestal, sitting on the ledges the rocks.
What does a frog eat?
A lurking frog is a cunning hunter, the victims of which are moving individuals: spiders, insects, worms, slugs and fish fry. Having determined the future food moving in its field of vision, the frog in the water brings the latter closer and throws out a wide sticky tongue, to which the insect sticks. The frog is able to swallow large prey, placing it in the mouth with the help of the forelimbs. There are cases when swallows who drank water on the fly became their victims. What does a frog eat? That runs, flies, creeps past her, that is, moves; a stationary object in a tailless amphibian will simply not cause interest.
The family of tailless amphibians is most often found on the shores of water bodies in the warm season. The movements of the animal are so expressive and harsh that it immediately becomes clear where the expressions “swim like a frog” or “jump like a frog” came from. Making a jump, the frog sharply straightens its paws; the force arising from such an impulse throws the amphibian forward and up. Landing takes place on the short forelegs. The frog swims just as sharply, pushing from the water with its hind legs, between the fingers of which there are membranes. If we again return to clarifying the question “is a frog an animal or an insect?”, The answer is unequivocal: an animal!
Frogs: how to breed
Reproduction in frogs occurs in the spring, after awakening from hibernation. The total amount of laid eggs in different species is not the same and ranges from 600 to 20 thousand eggs. Food for tadpoles is unicellular algae, as well as simple rotting animals and plant debris. Frogs reach puberty at 2-4 years of age with a total life expectancy of 5-6 years. There have been cases when tailless amphibians have existed in captivity for more than 10 years.
The life of frogs in nature is of genuine interest due to its unusual nature. So, most of them leave eggs unattended in the water or nearby the reservoir; parental concern puzzles a smaller part of amphibians. For example, the male of the Surinamese pipa lays eggs on the back of the female, and the male of the Darwin's rinoderma saves them in a special throat bag, from which the hatched and grown frogs are subsequently independently selected outside.
Features of the skin of frogs
All frogs have thin, naked skin covered with mucus, which contributes to the respiratory process and prevents the skin from drying out. The mucus on the skin of frogs contains substances that protect them from harmful microorganisms. In some species, this substance is even poisonous and is a kind of amulet of frogs from eating them by other animals. So, poison-dart frogs and leaf-climbers living in Central and South America secrete the deadliest toxins on the planet.
When on land, the moisture contained in the mucus evaporates, as a result of which amphibians lose a large amount of it. For this reason, the habitat of frogs is the most humid area for them. The life of a frog in nature is entertaining; An interesting fact is that amphibians do not drink water, making up for the lack of its quantity through the skin. Among all this smooth-skinned fraternity, a hairy frog stands out; males of this species during the breeding season are covered with skin patches resembling hair. A characteristic feature of the hairy frog is also the ability to release claws during danger, which, piercing the skin, form bones on the fingers.
Is frog skin poisonous?
By the way, the skin of poisonous frogs in ancient times served as the main component in the manufacture of poison for arrows; one individual was enough to lubricate 500 units. The toxicity of frogs can be judged by the bright, just screaming color. So, the poison of a frog-poison frog - an inhabitant of South America - even in the amount of 2 milligrams can kill a person.
Coloring also serves to mask the animal; the leader in this area is a mossy frog, which almost completely merges with the environment, even her eyes against the background of moss are barely distinguishable.
This kind of frog is very popular among exotic lovers who want to keep it as a pet. The beautiful coloring of the representative of the tropics is appreciated accordingly: the cost of one individual who knows how to climb rocks and tall trees perfectly reaches $ 75.
Amazing Frog Life Facts
The body temperature of amphibians is similar to ambient temperature. The following fact has been recorded: a tree frog living in Alaska freezes in the winter to such an extent that it turns into an ice. In such a frozen state, amphibian does not breathe, blood circulation and heart function stop. With the onset of spring, the animal thaws naturally, gradually returning to normal life. There are only a few species of such unique amphibians that can tolerate low temperatures on the planet, most representatives of this class are not able to survive in such conditions.
Frogs have an increased ability to survive; examples of this have been recorded more than once. In 1835, a certain Englishman witnessed how a block of sandstone collapsed and split in the middle of the ground from a platform, and a frog jumped out of its cavity. And there are a large number of quite reliable reports of frogs walled up inside hollow boulders; this only confirms the unique ability of frogs to survive in extreme conditions.
Can a frog fly?
This amphibian in the process of evolution learned to fly, fleeing in this way from enemies. Characterized by flying specimens, even able to change the flight path (sometimes reaching 12 meters), with long fingers spread with membranes. Frogs, not without human help, are able to set world records.
So, in a specially arranged competition for
long jumps held in 1977 in South Africa, a frog nicknamed Sandji jumped 10.3 meters!
How do frogs communicate with each other?
Communication among themselves in frogs occurs in a range inaccessible to the human ear by using ultrasounds that are outside the range of human hearing. This can be explained by the noisy habitat of amphibians, in which low frequencies customary for humans differ with difficulty. An unusual arrangement of the organ of hearing also contributes to this feature in frogs; Eardrums are located behind the eyes, inside a special cavity. According to scientists, this arrangement of ears allows frogs to overcome the aquatic noise inherent in their habitat. The most vociferous frogs can cover a radius of several kilometers. From the cry of a bull frog, heard for the first time and associated with the roar of a huge terrible beast, you can start off without a trace.