Frogs are one of the most exciting creatures to ever exist on planet earth. They are the owners of a lot of unique features which make them stand out from the other ordinary species.
The Frog is the most prominent member of the whole class of Amphibians. Some frogs pose a threat to the ones approaching them. Other frogs tend to be very friendly to the contact of people. They vary in a lot of different sizes. The thing which makes the creature much more interesting is its ability to survive amid difficult ecological situations. It is a prey, and a predator as well.
The whole Amphibian class was once represented by these creatures. Humans have made a lot of references to frogs and toads in a lot of moral content like stories and other content they create. Let us get to know some of the most interesting facts about the frog species in this article.
1) Facts about Frogs
1.1) The Frog Species is Carnivore
Frogs and toads tend to stay herbivores during their early stages of growth. When frogs and toads are in the form of tadpoles, they eat small algae and decaying matter. But once the toad reaches its maturity and becomes an adult, it will start by eating insects of all types around them.
Frogs are one of the most famous insect eaters on the planet. Most frogs find a way to survive without hunger, just by hunting insects around them with their long and sticky tongue. But the interesting thing here is that frogs even eat smaller vertebrates and non-vertebrates as well.
1.2) Frogs and Toads Drink Water Through their Skin
This is one of the unique abilities which is only gifted to the species of frogs. Frogs tend to absorb water around them when they are thirsty. They don’t drink water using their mouth like every other normal organism around the planet. They use their skin to drink water. Such ability is used by the frogs with the help of a specific part called the drinking patch which is located in between the belly and thigh region of the frogs.
But a thing here is that absorbing contaminated water through their skin won’t give them a warning that they are consuming something harmful. This ultimately sickens or even kills the frog.
1.3) The Waxy Monkey Frog Species
This is one of the exciting frog species in existence. The waxy frog species have a unique ability to secrete a gooey-like substance. This substance is real wax secreted from the body of the Waxy Monkey frog. The wax is secreted by the frog for the sole purpose to use it as a moisturizer. These frogs are usually found in the wild depths of Brazil, Paraguay, and Bolivia as well.
Another associated fact with this one is that the wax secreted by the frog tends to act as a defensive mechanism. The wax is purely harmful to other frogs as well as creatures who come in contact with it. The wax is poisonous, making it one of the effective defense mechanisms of the frog which is gifted to it naturally.
1.4) Frogs Shed their Skin
This fact is the most obvious, but the most unknown fact about frogs at the same time. Just like some of the prominent reptiles, these amphibians are also known to shed their skin once in a while. The frogs and toads of different regions shed their skin once or even twice a week. The skin is a rich source of protein for small creatures like a frog. So instead of wasting a good and reasonable source of protein, the frogs tend to eat their skin just after shedding them.
The frog opens up its mouth during the process of shedding skin. It quickly peels off the skin with a natural movement to make this process faster. Many frogs live with their mouths open just to consume the skin which they are starting to shed.
1.5) Frogs are Cautious Listeners
The whole species of frogs are considered to be one of the best when it comes to the aspect of wildlife survival. They outsmart their predator and avoid becoming prey by sketching out and implementing a plan which is mostly to flee from the spot of the attack. The frogs tend to get this ability to get early warning signals through the help of their ears.
Frogs are sharp listeners who mostly depend upon their hearing senses for survival. Frogs can even distinguish other frogs by hearing them out. The basic fact is that frogs don’t have physical ear elements like us, it owns a hole near their eye which it uses to hear the sounds around them effectively.
1.6) Frogs Own an Effective Mating Season
Frogs are amphibians that tend to lay eggs after reproduction. Frogs of both genders will be able to start reproducing only after the age of 2 or even 3 in some cases.
The female frogs try to find a water body to lay their eggs as soon as the mating is complete. They go in search of shelter, somewhere safe where the tadpoles can freely feed on smaller consumables to survive. The eggs hatch after quite some time and turn into tadpoles. The female frog tries to stay with the tadpoles till it reaches a specific maturity. Now, on the other hand, the male frogs go in search of another female frog for mating.
There is no reasonable amount of gap between a male frog and its mating period. The male frog mates a little faster, increasing the population of frogs around the area. A female frog needs up to 4 days to lays its eggs, And an average frog can mate up to 3 frogs per day. The frogs begin to mate as soon as the species come out of hibernation.
1.7) Frogs and Toads are Good Swimmers.
Most frogs in the depths of the forests which stay in the difficult water bodies are good swimmers. Well, they are amphibians after all. But they are considered one of the best swimmers in the whole class of amphibians. Frogs rely on their strong legs to swim. Their legs are the ultimate tools that they use to do a lot of things, and swimming is quite the important thing on that list.
The frog position is also being incorporated into most of the swimming classes which we, humans take. Frogs are amphibians that absorb the oxygen content present in the water. But if the water doesn’t have any oxygen, the frogs might just drown. Thus to prevent this, frogs use their legs and kick back the water to move forward, in search of land.
1.8) The Egg-laying Powerhouse- The Suriname Toad
The Suriname toad is known to lay over 100 eggs during a single attempt. The mating process of the whole species of Suriname Toad is quite interesting. It is said that the female is the key character here to initiate the process of reproduction. The process goes like this. The male frogs attract females by creating various sounds underwater.
Most frogs reproduce on land, while these stay underwater during the whole process. The female’s body swims over the male frog and it releases nearly a hundred eggs above the male frog. The male frogs then start to fertilize these eggs. These fertilized eggs tend to get attached to the back of the female frog till it reaches a developmental stage. Once each one of them starts to show life, the female frog releases them to move independently and grow.
1.9) The Frozen Frog- The Wood Frog
The wood frog is one of the most interesting frogs in existence. It is said that wood frogs tend to get frozen during the winter season. They later get back to their original state during the spring season of the next year. Quite scary to hear this but the vitals of the frog will be in a faint condition when the frog is in a frozen state. The heart rate will resume its normality only after it gets reanimated.
The Glucose level is the only thing that enables the frog to withstand such low temperatures for a long time. The species is an exclusive inhabitant of the Continent of North America. Scientists are trying to find a lot of methods in making this method usable for human life as well.
1.10) Nature’s Wonder- The Glass Frog
The species of Glass frog is quite fascinating and stands out from the other frogs in existence. It is because these frogs are classified as one of the most fragile elements on the planet. You can understand why it is classified in such a way by looking at one of its pictures. The frog is generally green in color. It is only sized to an average human palm. The frog has sparkly eyes toned yellow.
But the main reason for it being listed as one of the most fragile species of frogs is that the portion under its belly is transparent. Meaning that every single organ present within the frog will be visible clearly to the viewer when seen under.
The viewer can see its heart beating and blood veins functioning throughout its tiny body. Due to its fragile nature, the owners of the glass frog are clearly instructed to take proper care like giving it adequate space to roam and water to drink punctually. Missing these might stress the frog both mentally and physically.
1.11) Captive Frogs Live Longer
Frogs in the wild are usually captured to get treated as pets or for other research purposes. Frogs make quite a good pet when it comes to captivity from a very young age. Now, according to researchers and scientists, frogs that are captured and given human care show signs of extended vitality. They tend to live longer than the average owner and are left to live independently outside the care of Humans.
These captive frogs show signs of enjoyment and relaxation as well, which might be the core causes of their extended vitality. Most frogs live longer when they are shown luxury and care.
1.12) Poisonous Frogs Get their Poison from their Diet
Some frogs are poisonous animals in nature. They are designed and born that way. But some become poisonous due to their intake. They become what they eat. The frog’s body tends to take in the toxic substance present in every consumable it consumes. Frogs eat a lot of ants and insects. Most of them might be toxic and some might have toxic content present on them due to their interaction with a poisonous plant before it fell prey to the frog.
Now when the frog consumes it, the toxic substance is observed in the frog, making the whole creature poisonous. One such great example is the Poison dart frogs. The Poison dart frog eats toxic insects to get its poison, which is used for offense as well as for defense. This poison frog is naturally bright in color. The poison dart frog is quite defensive.
1.13) Most Frogs have Teeth
It is an unknown fact that most frogs in existence have teeth. They look like they don’t have a pair, but they do. One such frog was discovered in the region of South America which has stayed native to that region for quite a long time. It was named the Gasthrotheca. The tooth of the frogs is used to chew down the captured prey slowly, to make the process of consumption a lot easier.
Some frogs have teeth on their upper jaw. Some have their teeth located on the lower jaw. But the frog stated before is the only frog in existence, which has teeth on both sides of its jaw, making it look like a normal frog, but with a set of teeth inside. All the frogs tend to have teeth on the roof of their mouth which are known to be the Vomerine Teeth.
1.14) World’s Deadliest Frog- The Golden Poison Dart Frog
The Golden Poison dart frog is considered to be one of the most dangerous animals to ever be left independent on planet earth. These frogs look beautiful. But they are multiple times deadlier than that. This poisonous frog species is so deadly that you should not even touch it with your bare hands. The poison has the capacity of getting absorbed by the human skin, making it restricted to touch.
The poison of the Golden poison dart frog is said to kill a man within 10 minutes if the poison is exposed directly to his bloodstream. When a person touches this frog with his bare hand, the whole portion of his hand might start to swell. He might even feel nauseous. In addition to this, the whole portion can even be paralyzed due to the poison of the frog. These reasons make the statement of the “World’s Deadliest Frog” sound reasonable.
1.15) Frogs are Great Jumpers
One of the most obvious facts in this list is that frogs are known to be the best jumpers of all time. These creatures are known to move around places by jumping from one place to another. The species of frogs have extraordinary power stored in their legs, especially in their thigh muscles, making them one of the most powerful creatures who can jump up to twenty times their height.
Not all frogs tend to jump that higher, but for the frogs of such average sizes, it is a pretty cool fact to know that most of them are good jumpers. The South African sharp-nosed frog is known to have jumped from the height of 130 inches in one leap. This may sound normal now, but when facts are taken into comparison here, it would have been like an average 5-foot-tall man attempting to jump about 220 feet above.
The size of the whole creature and the body length, especially its legs are taken into account here. The body length and height determine the capacity of a creature to jump.
1.16) The Largest Frog in the World- The Goliath Frog
The Goliath frog is the largest frog to ever exist on the planet. The frog has a whopping growth size of over 13 inches, which is nearly the half-size of a young adult. The frog is quite terrifying to look at due to its size and appearance. In addition to this, the average Goliath frog can weigh up to 3.5 Kilograms.
It is one of the wonders of mother nature in this world. The creature is in the stage of getting endangered. This species of frog is found specifically in the regions of Cameroon and Guinea in the Middle African Region. The Goliath frogs have a lifespan of about 12-15 years in the wild and about 20-25 in human captivity. The Goliath Frogs might not be the best pet frog one could look for though.
These are some of the most interesting facts about these wonderful creatures. There are a lot of other unexplored features of the frogs, which makes them the most exciting ones as well. Feel free to check out the content regarding the largest bird in the world, brought to you by Icy tales.
Last Updated on by Himani Rawat