Frogs and Toads
Hello, my name is Nikole. I have a mom, dad, and younger sister. I've danced for 10 years. My favorite hobbies are dancing and drawing. I'm going into 8th grade at Forest Grove. I hope you enjoy my web site on frogs and toads!
What is a Frog and a toad?
Frogs and toads are members of a class called Amphibia. Amphibians are cold-blooded vertebrate animals.There are three types of Amphibians.
- Anura
- Salientia
- Caecilians
Life Cycle of a Frog
When Frogs mate, the male frog tends to grab the female in an embrace called "amplexus". He literally climbs on her back, and reaches his arms around her "waist". Frogs and Toads lay many eggs because there are many hazards between fertalization and fully grown frogs and toads! Those eggs that die turn white. The lucky ones that actually manage to hatch still start out on a journey to live. Shortly after hatching, the tadpole still feeds on the remaining yolk (its guts)! The tadpole at this point has bad developed gills, a mouth, and a tail. He or she is really fragile at this point in thier life. They usually will stick themselves in floating weeds or grasses in the water using little sticky organs between its mouth and belly area. By between 12 to 16 weeks, depending on water and food supplies, the frog has completed the full growth cycle.
Do Frogs And Toads Have Teeth?
Actually, yes! Most frogs and toads do in fact have teeth of a sort. They have very small cone teeth around the upper edge of the jaw. These are called Maxillary Teeth. Frogs and toads often also have what are called Vomerine Teeth on the roof of their mouth!
Super Skin
Frogs and toads have very special skin! They don't just wear it, they drink and breathe through it. Frogs and toads don't usually swallow water like we do. Instead they absorb most of the moisture they need through their skin.
How Long Do Frogs and Toads Live?
It turns out that very little is known at all about the natural lifespan of frogs and toads. This is because it's pretty hard to track all its life! (I guess they haven't figured out a way to put little tiny tracking collars around their necks!) However, some records show that in captivity, many types of frogs and toads can live for surprisingly long times. They seem generally average somewhere between 4 and 15 years!
Frogs and toads are the best leapers on the planet! Did you know that frogs can launch themselves over 20 times their own length using those big strong legs of theirs? That would be like if you could jump 100 feet!
Frog and Toad Enemies
Frogs have to watch out for all kinds of animals in the wild. There are a wide group of frog predators. Animals that eat frogs for snacks include snakes, lizards, birds, and some small animals like hedgehogs. Even under water frogs can't be safe from hungry sharp toothed fish, swimming mammals like water shrews, and even diving birds! As if that wasn't bad enough, frogs even have to watch out for other hungry frogs!!!
The Biggest Frog
The biggest kind of frog is the Goliath frog (Conraua Goliath). They come from Cameroon in West Africa. Their bodies can reach the size of nearly a foot (30 cm) long.(remember: their legs are also AT LEAST that long!!!!)The Conraua Goliath weighs as much as a large house cat, about 3.3 kilos! It's as big as a baby dear.
The Smallest Frog
Equally small is the smallest frog in the Northern Hemisphere, only recently discovered (1996) in Monte Iberia, Cuba. It doesn't have a common name yet, but its scientific name is Eleutherodactylus Iberia. It is smaller then a dime.
There is a way to make a frog out of origami. It's not hard but it is not easy ether.
Here's how to make Frogoragmi
In conclusion I hope you learned something about frogs and toads! Come back soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!
