Portal:Frogs

The Frogs Portal

Various types of frog

A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek ἀνούρα, literally 'without tail'). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" Triadobatrachus is known from the Early Triassic of Madagascar (250 million years ago), but molecular clock dating suggests their split from other amphibians may extend further back to the Permian, 265 million years ago. Frogs are widely distributed, ranging from the tropics to subarctic regions, but the greatest concentration of species diversity is in tropical rainforest. Frogs account for around 88% of extant amphibian species. They are also one of the five most diverse vertebrate orders. Warty frog species tend to be called toads, but the distinction between frogs and toads is informal, not from taxonomy or evolutionary history.

An adult frog has a stout body, protruding eyes, anteriorly-attached tongue, limbs folded underneath, and no tail (the tail of tailed frogs is an extension of the male cloaca). Frogs have glandular skin, with secretions ranging from distasteful to toxic. Their skin varies in colour from well-camouflaged dappled brown, grey and green to vivid patterns of bright red or yellow and black to show toxicity and ward off predators. Adult frogs live in fresh water and on dry land; some species are adapted for living underground or in trees.

Frogs typically lay their eggs in the water. The eggs hatch into aquatic larvae called tadpoles that have tails and internal gills. They have highly specialised rasping mouth parts suitable for herbivorous, omnivorous or planktivorous diets. The life cycle is completed when they metamorphose into adults. A few species deposit eggs on land or bypass the tadpole stage. Adult frogs generally have a carnivorous diet consisting of small invertebrates, but omnivorous species exist and a few feed on plant matter. Frog skin has a rich microbiome which is important to their health. Frogs are extremely efficient at converting what they eat into body mass. They are an important food source for predators and part of the food web dynamics of many of the world's ecosystems. The skin is semi-permeable, making them susceptible to dehydration, so they either live in moist places or have special adaptations to deal with dry habitats. Frogs produce a wide range of vocalisations, particularly in their breeding season, and exhibit many different kinds of complex behaviors to attract mates, to fend off predators and to generally survive. (Full article...)

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Common toad calls, recorded in Radnor, Wales

The common toad, European toad, or in Anglophone parts of Europe, simply the toad (Bufo bufo, from Latin bufo "toad"), is a toad found throughout most of Europe (with the exception of Ireland, Iceland, parts of Scandinavia, and some Mediterranean islands), in the western part of North Asia, and in a small portion of Northwest Africa. It is one of a group of closely related animals that are descended from a common ancestral line of toads and which form a species complex. The toad is an inconspicuous animal as it usually lies hidden during the day. It becomes active at dusk and spends the night hunting for the invertebrates on which it feeds. It moves with a slow, ungainly walk or short jumps, and has greyish-brown skin covered with wart-like lumps.

Although toads are usually solitary animals, in the breeding season, large numbers of toads converge on certain breeding ponds, where the males compete to mate with the females. Eggs are laid in gelatinous strings in the water and later hatch out into tadpoles. After several months of growth and development, these sprout limbs and undergo metamorphosis into tiny toads. The juveniles emerge from the water and remain largely terrestrial for the rest of their lives. (Full article...)

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Photograph of the Italian tree frog Hyla intermedia. Its natural habitats are the temperate forests, rivers, and freshwater marshes of countries like Italy, Slovenia, and Switzerland. It feeds on small invertebrates such as flies, mosquitoes and midges. In the breeding season, dominant males establish territories near a pond or other body of water and advertise themselves by calling. Other male frogs, known as "satellites" may lurk nearby and try to intercept females attracted by the territorial males' calls.
Photo credit: Benny Trapp

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General images

The following are images from various frog-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Red-eyed treefrog, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica (from Tree frog)
Image 2American toad (Anaxyrus americanus) (from True toad)
Image 3Powdered glass frog, Cochranella pulverata, Centrolenidae, Honduras to Ecuador (from Tree frog)
Image 4Old Dutch tile from Friesland (from Frogs in culture)
Image 5Freddo Frog advertisement, 1930 (from Frogs in culture)
Image 6Wallace's flying frog (Rhacophorus nigropalmatus) (from Flying frog)
Image 7Torrent treefrog
Litoria nannotis
Hylidae
Australia (from Torrent frog)
Image 8Gladiator treefrog (Hypsiboas rosenbergi), Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica (from Tree frog)
Image 9Frog pictured in the coat of arms of Baloži (from Frogs in culture)
Image 10American green tree frog, Dryophytes cinereus or Hyla cinerea, Hylidae, central and southeastern United States (from Tree frog)
Image 11Gray tree frog, Hyla versicolor, Hylidae, eastern North America (from Tree frog)
Image 12Roman lamp mount shaped like a frog. (from Frogs in culture)
Image 13Vietnamese folk painting "Nhân nghĩa" (from Toad)
Image 14Crapaud et Grenouille ("Frog and Toad") by Jean Carriès, between 1889 and 1894 (from Frogs in culture)
Image 15Eungella torrent frog
Taudactylus eungellensis
Myobatrachidae
Australia (from Torrent frog)
Image 16Vietnamese folk painting "Lão oa giảng độc" (from Toad)
Image 17Detail of Josiah Wedgwood's Frog Service, 1773–4, made for Catherine the Great of Russia (from Frogs in culture)
Image 18Moche frog, 200 AD (from Frogs in culture)
Image 19Entre ciel et terre, by Gustave Doré, 1862 (from Frogs in culture)
Image 20Early Dynastic (c. 3000 BC) frog statuette) (from Frogs in culture)
Image 21Black torrent frog
Micrixalus saxicola
Ranidae
India (from Torrent frog)
Image 22Hermenegildo Bustos, Still life with fruit, 1874 (from Frogs in culture)
Image 23"My Old Friend Dr. Frog". Promotional postcard for "Frog In Your Throat" Company throat medicine (from Frogs in culture)
Image 24A frog being eaten by King Stork, an illustration by Milo Winter in a 1919 Aesop anthology (from Frogs in culture)
Image 25European treefrog (Hyla arborea) (from Tree frog)
Image 26Wrestling frogs from Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga, cartoon, Japan, 12th century (from Frogs in culture)
Image 27Ascaphus montanus tadpole (supine position), showing the large oral sucker (from Tailed frog)
Image 28Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee 2016 (from Frog jumping contest)
Image 29Malabar tree toad, Pedostibes tuberculosus, Hyperoliidae, India (from Tree frog)
Image 30Big-eyed tree frog, Leptopelis vermiculatus, Hyperoliidae, Tanzania (from Tree frog)
Image 31Frog and Mouse by Getsuju, a Japanese artist of the Edo period (from Frogs in culture)
Image 32Common tree frog, Polypedates leucomystax, Rhacophoridae, southern to eastern Asia (from Tree frog)
Image 33White-lipped bright-eyed frog, Boophis albilabris, Mantellidae, Madagascar (from Tree frog)
Image 34Common toad, female and male on her back. (from True toad)
Image 35Dead Frog with Flies by Ambrosius Bosschaert II, c. 1630 (from Frogs in culture)

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Did you know?

A Pristimantis jamescameroni

... that the new species of frog Pristimantis jamescameroni (pictured) from Venezuela was named after the film-maker James Cameron?
... that female specimens of the Hyperolius ocellatus are larger than the males?
... that tadpoles of the green burrowing frog need to grow rapidly because the temporary pools in which they develop soon dry up?
...that tree frogs have been used as barometers because they respond to approaching rain by croaking?
... that the Bombay night frog has been found living in a cave piled high with fruit bat droppings?