Frogs, which every person associates with loud croaking and warm seasons, belong to the anurans, the largest order of amphibians. The habitat of some individuals is exclusively land, other species of frogs recognize living only in water, some - both. There are also tree frogs that live in trees and can glide up to 15 meters.
Most comfortable for representatives of amphibians are places with high dampness - moist forests, meadows, swamps, shores of freshwater reservoirs. Almost every corner of the earth is inhabited by these big-eyed creatures, of which there are more than 5,000 species on the planet. The highest density is recorded in the tropical zone. Many nature lovers have always wondered: what is it, a frog? What does it eat? Where does he live?
External description of the frog
Frogs are characterized by a short body. The absence of a neck as such allows the tailless animal to tilt its head only slightly, in the upper part of whichtwo bulging eyes and nostrils are located. What does a frog eat in a pond? What kind of lifestyle does he lead? And why does it blink so often? The frog's organs of vision are protected by eyelids: the upper one is leathery and the lower one is transparent and mobile. The private blinking characteristic of them is due to the protection against drying out of the surface of the eyes, which are wetted by the moist skin of the eyelids. This feature is caused by the terrestrial way of life of the frog. For comparison, fish - permanent residents of a humid environment - do not have eyelids, so they do not blink at all. The visual feature of frogs is their ability to simultaneously see everything that happens in front, above and to the side. At the same time, they never, even during sleep, close their eyes for a long time.
Outside, behind each eye, is the outer ear, covered with skin - the eardrum. The internal hearing organ of the frog is located directly in the skull.
Frog skin properties
The green frog inhales the air with its lungs, which are poorly developed in it, and with the skin, which is of great importance in the respiratory process. For this species of amphibians, an absolutely dry environment is detrimental, as it causes the skin to dry out and certain death as a result of this. In the aquatic environment, the frog completely switches to skin breathing.
Our ancestors believed that frog skin had bactericidal properties, so they threw these animals into milk so that it would not turn sour. By the way, the frog does not drink at all, and water from the external environment enters its body with food and through the skin, which, due to skin secretions of a mucous consistency, is constantly wet. Based on the above,questions arise: "What distinguishes the common frog from the rest of the fauna? What does it eat? How does it hunt for prey?"
The frog has well-formed limbs, each of which consists of three main sections linked together by means of movable joints. In the front paws, this is the shoulder, forearm and hand, ending with 4 fingers (the fifth is underdeveloped). The back part consists of a foot with 5 fingers connected by swimming membranes, a lower leg and a thigh. The hind legs, which play the main role in movement, are several times stronger and longer than the front ones, while the forelimbs serve as a kind of softening shock absorbers when jumping.
The body temperature of an amphibian directly depends on the temperature of the environment, rising in warm weather and falling in cold. Like fish, frogs are cold-blooded animals. Therefore, when it gets cold, they lose activity and tend to take refuge in a warmer place, and in winter they hibernate.
Frog: what it eats
The diet of these anurans is quite extensive and consists of individuals surrounding it. Therefore, through logical thinking and careful observation, one can understand what the frog eats in the pond. These are mainly beetles, mosquitoes, flies, spiders, worms, snails, caterpillars, small crustaceans and sometimes fry.
Some of the victims have a hard shell, which the frog copes with with its teeth. Frogs hunt exclusively for moving prey, sitting in a secluded place andpatiently waiting for the next dinner. Noticing a potential victim, the huntress immediately throws out a long wide tongue from her mouth, to which she sticks.
Frog: species
Tailless amphibians are divided into three types: frogs, toads and tree frogs.
Frogs are characterized by smooth, slightly bumpy skin, swimming membranes on the hind limbs and teeth located on the upper jaw. The most respectable representative of this species is the goliath frog, predominantly found in West Africa. Its length is up to 1 meter, and its weight is about 3 kg. Impressive dimensions! Such a frog strikes the eye. What eats such a large individual, capable of jumping up to 3 meters? The goliath frog feeds on its little cousins, spiders and scorpions, and can live up to 15 years. Her lack of a vocal resonator is compensated by her excellent hearing.
The size of the smallest frogs living in Cuba is from 8.5 to 12 mm.
Pond Frog
In the central regions of Europe, the pond green frog is the most common, differing from its counterparts only in its smaller size.
The belly, devoid of spots, has a white or yellowish color, the color of the back is gray-green or bright green. A favorite habitat is small ponds with stagnant water and near-water flora. It prefers a daytime lifestyle, feels comfortable both on land and in water, which allows it to equally consume oxygen through the skin and lungs. Uses fast jumps to move on landdanger tries to hide in a pond. They usually come out of hibernation in April-May, when the outside temperature is 12 oC warm, and the water temperature is 10oC. B
at the beginning of awakening, their activity is low, after two or three weeks, as the water warms up, reproduction begins in the reservoir. One female can lay up to 3000 eggs, from which a frog larva develops within a week. The full cycle of her reincarnation into an adult is about 2 months.
The life of a frog in nature
The frog tadpole feeds on microscopic algae, a little later - insect larvae. Frogs reach sexual maturity in the third year of life. Their life expectancy in natural conditions reaches 6-12 years. With the onset of a cold snap, the frogs leave for the winter, preferring to burrow into the silt. Sometimes they can hide on land, for example, in a rodent hole. For example, common frogs spend the winter at the bottom of non-freezing reservoirs, at the headwaters of streams and rivers, gathering in tens and hundreds of individuals. The sharp-faced frog chooses cracks in the earth's crust for wintering.
Toads and tree frogs: differences
Toads are characterized by their lack of teeth and bumpy skin that is darker and drier than frogs. The largest individual in the world - the toad-aga - is also one of the most poisonous among its brethren.
It can weigh up to 2 kg. The smallest toad has a length of 2.4 cm. Representatives of this species prefer to exist on land, going down to the wateronly during mating season.
Tree frogs are the smallest representatives of the three described species of frogs. They differ from the rest by the presence of expanded discs on the fingers, helping them to climb up. Some species can fly, which helps them escape from enemies.
Amazing types of frogs
Like many representatives of the fauna, there are unique specimens among frogs.
So, in India there is a rainbow frog, which is an object of worship. She lives in the house of Reggie Kumar. Its unusualness lies in its constantly changing color, which attracts a large number of people who want to look at this miracle and pray to it.
The internal structure of a frog can be easily studied by its endangered species - Hyalinobatrachium pellucidum. Otherwise, it is called glass, or transparent, since its insides can be seen through the skin.
From the dart frogs of Central and South America, I would like to highlight the coloring dart frog, in particular, its blue subspecies. Unlike other brethren, it is active even during the daytime and almost always has a bright color.
Many poison dart frogs are on the brink of extinction. Poison dart frogs are somewhat poisonous, which the American Indians successfully used, using their poison for their arrows.
Vietnamese marsh frog, which lives in tropical and subtropical forests, is often the subject of domestic exotics, in value terms it is estimated from 45 to 75 dollars. It is also called mossy due to its unusual structure.skin that looks like rocky moss. Also, this appearance is an excellent disguise.
