Life Cycle of frogs
The eggs will hatch within 3-25 days depending on the species and water
temperature. If it is warmer, it will be faster. Colder temperature
will slow down the hatching. Eggs vary in size, color and shape with different
species. The eggs are usually covered with s jellylike substance which
acts as a protective coating. Even the jelly differs depending on species.
Young frogs are called tadpoles or polliwogs. They do not look like
frogs yet. They look more like little fish. They have a tail and
have external gills which they breath through. Tadpoles eat plants
and decaying animal matter. However, some will egg other frog eggs and
even tadpoles. As the tadpole develop, it will first grow the hind legs
and then the front legs or arms. The tail slowly retracts and disappears
and the frog hops up to the land as an adult.
Not all eggs or tadpoles will make it to the adult stage. There are
many threats like ducks, fish, insects and other water creatures that
will eat the eggs. When they are tadpoles, they still face danger like being
eaten by larger water animals or die when the pond dries up. How fast tadpoles
turn into an adult depend on the species and their natural surrounding.
It might take a less than 2 weeks or even up to a few months.
Click here to see the Life Cycle
of the frog in pictures with description form.
Why are frogs important ?
Frogs are important to human beings. They are a source of food in
some countries. They eat insects, some of which are serious pests.
We use them for medical research to test for new drugs and students
dissect them to learn about anatomy. They are also part of the
eco-system which means that whatever happens to them will affect
other animals and even us in different ways. We are all connected
in the web of life.
Frogs are a kind of small animal belonging to a group called vertebrates
(animals with backbones) known as amphibians. This mean that they
live part of their life in water and the other part of it on land.
The word amphibian comes from 2 Greek words, "amphi" which means "both" and
"bios" which means "life".
Amphibians
are cold-blooded animals. This mean that their body temperature is the same
as the surrounding temperature. Their skin absorbs water into their body
so they do not have to drink water to survive. Frogs have strong hind legs to enable
them leap forward at a great distance.
The front legs or arms are short.
They are used to prop the frog up when it sits.
The male frogs are the ones that sing. Different species sing different
songs. Males are the ones that have the loud voice. Some females have
voices too but they are softer. The males sing (grunts, croaks) to attract
the females for mating. Some frogs even have a vocal sac which fills with
air and swells up to make the voice even louder, like an amplifier (refer to picture).
Some males use their voice as a territorial call to warn other males of the
same species that this is their territory.
Some species do it in a different way though. The
