Frog Fun Facts

General
*There is evidence that frogs have roamed the Earth for more than 200 million years, at least as long as the dinosaurs.
*The world’s largest frog is the goliath frog of West Africa- it can grow 15 inches and weight up to 7 pounds.
*One of the smallest is the Cuban tree toad, which grows to half an inch long.
*While the life spans of frogs in the wild are unknown, frogs in captivity have been known to live more than 20 years.
*There are over 4, 900 species of frogs worldwide. Scientists continue to search for new ones and estimate that more than 1, 000 frog species have yet to be described
*Toads are frogs- the word “toad” is usually used for frogs that have warty and dry skin, and shorter hind legs

Frog Physiology
*Frogs have excellent night vision and are very sensitive to movement. The bulging eyes of most frogs allow them to see in front, to the sides, and partially behind them. When a frog swallows food, it pulls its eyes down into the roof on its mouth, to help push the food down its throat.
*Frogs were the first land animals with vocal cords. Male frogs have vocal sacs- pouches of the skin that fill with air. These balloons resonate sounds like a megaphone, and some frog sounds can be heard from a mile away.

Locomotion
*Launched by their long legs, many frogs can leap more than 20 times their body length.
Surviving Extremes.
*Like all amphibians, frogs are cold-blooded, meaning their body temperatures change with the temperature of their surroundings. When temperatures drop, some frogs dig burrows until spring, completely still and scarcely breathing.
*The wood frog can live north of the Arctic Circle, surviving for weeks with 65% of its body frozen. This frog uses glucose in its body as a kind of antifreeze that concentrates in its vital organs, protecting them from damage while the rest of the body freezes solid.

Mating and Hatching
*Almost all frogs fertilize the eggs outside of the female’s body. The male holds the female around the waist in a mating hug called the amplexus. He fertilizes the eggs as the female lays them. Amplexus can last for hours or days- one pair of Andean toads stayed in amplexus for four months.
*The marsupial frog keeps her eggs in a pouch like a kangaroo. When the eggs hatch into tadpoles, she opens the pouch with her toes and spills them into the water.
*The gastric brooding frog of Australia swallows her fertilized eggs. The tadpoles remain in her stomach for up to eight weeks, finally hopping out of her mouth as little frogs. During the brooding period, gastric secretions cease- otherwise she would digest her own offspring.