The Frog
The frog is an amphibian, known for its ability to jump, smooth skin, and prominent eyes. Where the number of its types exceeds sixty species, and frogs need to live near water sources to reproduce, and they can be found in almost all environments, on all continents of the world except Antarctica, some oceanic islands, and the driest deserts in the world.
Frog characteristics
The frog has a set of characteristics in terms of shape and behavior, which are as follows:
Size and appearance
Some types of frogs have poisonous skin. As some frogs that spread in South America are highly toxic, and one drop of their skin secretions is sufficient to kill an adult, and poisonous frogs usually have bright and bright colors; Predators are known to be poisonous from their appearance, according to the San Diego Zoo, and many frogs have dotted green or brown skin to help them hide in their surroundings.
The sizes of frogs vary according to their types, and the largest of these frogs is the Goliath frog, which is 30 cm long and weighs 3 kg. It was previously surpassed in size by the devil frog in Madagascar, which is now extinct. Which reached a length of 41 cm, and weighed 4.5 kg, according to National Geographic, and the golden frog (in English: gold frog) is the smallest frog, and its length does not exceed 1 cm, and its weight is 200 g, according to the San Diego Zoo.
Frog diet
Frogs can eat any living thing that can enter its mouth, and that includes: spiders, worms, larvae, insects, molluscs, and small fish, and they catch prey by releasing their sticky tongue very quickly from their mouth, and pulling the prey into it, very quickly that does not allow her to escape.
Frog breeding
All frogs reproduce sexually, as the fertilization of eggs occurs outside the female’s body instead of inside, as the male frog releases the sperm as the female releases her eggs at the same time, and to make sure that the sperm reach the eggs, the male and female take a mating position called Amplexus.
Where the male climbs on the back of the female and holds his front feet around her midsection, and it is worth mentioning that it is possible for the frogs to remain in this state for hours or even days, after which the female lays from one egg to hundreds of eggs, where she lays her eggs in the water, then the eggs hatch into small frogs They grow into large frogs, and it is worth noting that the eggs hatch within days to a few weeks, depending on the types of frogs and the climate in which they live.
Frog eggs need moisture to grow, as if some frogs lay their eggs in dry areas, they provide them with moisture by sprinkling them with water or urine. .
Frog behavior
Frogs are social beings that live in groups called an army or a colony, where these groups of small frogs swim together in a scene that resembles groups of fish during the mating season. She releases his eggs to fertilize him.
Frog life cycle
The life cycle of a frog consists of three stages: the egg, the larva, and the adult frog. During these stages, it passes through a process called metamorphosis. The frog is not the only animal that undergoes this transformation process, but all other amphibians go through it. The hormones prolactin and thyroxine control this process.
Spring is the breeding season for frogs in areas with a temperate climate, while the breeding season is during the rainy season in areas with a tropical climate, and many species lay their eggs in calm waters among plants in masses that tend to gather together, where eggs can develop safely Relative, and the female lays eggs, so that the male releases sperm on him; to fertilize him.
Adults leave the eggs in many types of frogs to grow without care from them, and in return the parents stay with the eggs to take care of them while they grow in a few species, and when the fertilized eggs mature, the yolk in each egg is divided into more cells, and begins to take the form of a tadpole or Abu Thuniba, and within a period ranging from one to three weeks, the egg becomes ready to hatch, and a small tadpole emerges from the egg.
The tadpole has rudimentary gills, a mouth, and a long tail. It moves slightly during the first week or two of the egg hatching, and absorbs the remaining amount of yolk in the egg to supply nutrients that strengthen it to be able to swim on its own. During its growth, its hind legs begin to appear, and its body elongates. Its food turns into larger plants and insects, and in the last stages the front legs appear, its tail shrinks, and skin forms over the gills. The gills and tail disappear when the frog is 12 weeks old, reaches adulthood, and is ready to go out to dry land and restart the life cycle.
