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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The boiling frog is an apologue describing a frog being slowly boiled alive. The premise is that if a frog is put suddenly into boiling water, it will jump out, but if the frog is put in tepid water which is then brought to a boil slowly, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death. The story is often used as a metaphor for the inability or unwillingness of people to react to or be aware of sinister threats that arise gradually rather than suddenly.

While some 19th-century experiments suggested that the underlying premise is true if the heating is sufficiently gradual, according to modern biologists the premise is false: changing location is a natural thermoregulation strategy for frogs and other ectotherms, and is necessary for survival in the wild. A frog that is gradually heated will jump out. Furthermore, a frog placed into already boiling water will die immediately, not jump out. (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 1American toad (Anaxyrus americanus) (from True toad)
Image 2Eungella torrent frog
Taudactylus eungellensis
Myobatrachidae
Australia (from Torrent frog)
Image 3Frog pictured in the coat of arms of Baloži (from Frogs in culture)
Image 4Torrent treefrog
Litoria nannotis
Hylidae
Australia (from Torrent frog)
Image 5Roman lamp mount shaped like a frog. (from Frogs in culture)
Image 6Entre ciel et terre, by Gustave Doré, 1862 (from Frogs in culture)
Image 7Powdered glass frog, Cochranella pulverata, Centrolenidae, Honduras to Ecuador (from Tree frog)
Image 8Detail of Josiah Wedgwood's Frog Service, 1773–4, made for Catherine the Great of Russia (from Frogs in culture)
Image 9Big-eyed tree frog, Leptopelis vermiculatus, Hyperoliidae, Tanzania (from Tree frog)
Image 10A frog being eaten by King Stork, an illustration by Milo Winter in a 1919 Aesop anthology (from Frogs in culture)
Image 11Vietnamese folk painting "Lão oa giảng độc" (from Toad)
Image 12Hermenegildo Bustos, Still life with fruit, 1874 (from Frogs in culture)
Image 13Common toad, female and male on her back. (from True toad)
Image 14Ascaphus montanus tadpole (supine position), showing the large oral sucker (from Tailed frog)
Image 15Malabar tree toad, Pedostibes tuberculosus, Hyperoliidae, India (from Tree frog)
Image 16Wallace's flying frog (Rhacophorus nigropalmatus) (from Flying frog)
Image 17European treefrog (Hyla arborea) (from Tree frog)
Image 18Early Dynastic (c. 3000 BC) frog statuette) (from Frogs in culture)
Image 19Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee 2016 (from Frog jumping contest)
Image 20Vietnamese folk painting "Nhân nghĩa" (from Toad)
Image 21Moche frog, 200 AD (from Frogs in culture)
Image 22Gray tree frog, Hyla versicolor, Hylidae, eastern North America (from Tree frog)
Image 23"My Old Friend Dr. Frog". Promotional postcard for "Frog In Your Throat" Company throat medicine (from Frogs in culture)
Image 24Crapaud et Grenouille ("Frog and Toad") by Jean Carriès, between 1889 and 1894 (from Frogs in culture)
Image 25Wrestling frogs from Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga, cartoon, Japan, 12th century (from Frogs in culture)
Image 26Freddo Frog advertisement, 1930 (from Frogs in culture)
Image 27Red-eyed treefrog, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica (from Tree frog)
Image 28American green tree frog, Dryophytes cinereus or Hyla cinerea, Hylidae, central and southeastern United States (from Tree frog)
Image 29Common tree frog, Polypedates leucomystax, Rhacophoridae, southern to eastern Asia (from Tree frog)
Image 30White-lipped bright-eyed frog, Boophis albilabris, Mantellidae, Madagascar (from Tree frog)
Image 31Gladiator treefrog (Hypsiboas rosenbergi), Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica (from Tree frog)
Image 32Old Dutch tile from Friesland (from Frogs in culture)
Image 33Frog and Mouse by Getsuju, a Japanese artist of the Edo period (from Frogs in culture)
Image 34Black torrent frog
Micrixalus saxicola
Ranidae
India (from Torrent frog)
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?