Frogs are rightfully considered to be one of the most amazing amphibians that live on the planet, and, despite their appearance, they are cute and attractive in their own way. After all, it was not for nothing that the frog was made the heroine of one of the Russian fairy tales, and for some nationalities the frogs were totem animals. We will also go to the marshes and ponds to reveal the most interesting facts about frogs.
1
Name
In the Russian language, the word "frog" began to be used in the XVII century, and the dictionary was first introduced in 1731. The very word goes back to the pro-Slavic word “to kick” (hip), since this amphibian moves by means of its hind limbs, and in Russia the frog was called a toad.
English tree frog literally means spring mockingbird. But the fact is that, waking up in the spring, the males begin to make loud sounds, very reminiscent of laughter.
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Species diversity
These amphibians live on all continents of the Earth, except, of course, Antarctica. You will not meet them, except, among the sands of the Sahara and in the highlands. They live everywhere - in bodies of water, swamps, rivers, trees, land, and even deep underground in dense layers of clay or bottom silt.
In total, scientists count about 600 species of real frogs, and together with tree frogs and toads, more than 5 thousand are obtained. By the way, of all the amphibians known to the scientific world, 88% are occupied by frogs.
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Differences between toads and frogs
Toads, unlike frogs, have no teeth, their whole body is covered with small tubercles, and their skin is much drier. In addition, toads love to spend most of their lives on solid land, migrating to water only during breeding periods.
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Tree frogs
In the photo: Red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas)
Among the congeners, tree frogs are the smallest, and it is easy to recognize them by the extended disks located on the fingers. They help amphibians to climb up almost steep surfaces.
In addition, tree frogs can fly, and to be more precise, plan for a distance of 12 m.
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Life span
Toads and frogs live on average from 6 to 8 years, but there are cases when the life expectancy of some specimens was recorded at the turn of 32 years and even 40 years. Tree frogs among the congeners live the least, only 3 years.
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The biggest…
In the photo: the boy holds Goliath in his hands
The record holder in size is considered to be the frog Goliath (Conraua goliath). Its dimensions really amaze, because the length of the body reaches 32 cm and weight is more than 3 kg, and with the help of massive hind legs such an amphibious “giant” jumps 3 meters.
In the photo: Yeah
Among the toads, with a weight of just over 2 kg, the largest is the toad Agha, in addition, this tropical toad is also the most poisonous.
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The smallest ...
In the photo: Paedophryne amauensis
In 2012, a group of scientists from an American university discovered a previously unknown species from a large frog family among the sheet litter of Papua New Guinea. They called the species Paedophryne amauensis, and today it is the smallest frog in the world, whose length is only 7 mm.
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About poisons ...
Among these seemingly harmless inhabitants of the planet there are also dangerous ones. So, the most poisonous is the Panamanian golden frog, one touch of which causes a burn and severe allergies and can lead to death.
In general, frogs from a large family of poisonous frogs are considered the most poisonous in the world. For example, the poison of a spotted frog that lives in the waters of Peru is enough to poison 5 people.
On our site TheBiggest.ru there is a very interesting article about some of the most skillful poisonous creatures on the planet, about the most dangerous spiders.
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Vision
The eyes of the frogs are arranged in a special way that they see forward, up and sideways. And they see in three planes at the same time. Their peculiarity of vision is such that they practically do not close their eyes, even during sleep.
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Development
We all know that frogs lay eggs, from which tadpoles then emerge. So, for the period of transformation from a tadpole into an adult, the frog goes through 30 stages of development. You can directly study the process of evolution in one specific form.
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Breath
Being on land, frogs, like most animals, breathe lightly, but in the water they receive, so to speak, “inhale” oxygen with their whole bodies.
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Hearing
Excellent vision is complemented by a magnificent hearing, which is also unique in these amphibians. They are able to pick up any fluctuations in the air, but interestingly, they hear in the water with their inner ears, and on the ground they pick up the audio vibrations in the air with all their skin and bones.
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Nutrition
Toads, like frogs, belong to predators, eating insects, hunting small rodents and fry of some fish species. In South America, tadpoles of one species of frogs during development eat the tadpoles of other, smaller tadpoles. Some species prey on fish. Interestingly, the frog pushes food into the stomach through the movement of the eyeballs.
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Fathers and Sons…
In the photo: Pseudis paradoxa
There is a unique species of frogs on the planet whose offspring are born much larger than the parents themselves. Adult individuals grow up to 6 cm, and their tadpoles reach a length of 25 cm, and then, as a result of growing up and “growth”, they decrease. This species is called Pseudis paradoxa, or the Amazing Frog.
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Dimensions
We continue the theme of sizes, and note that in most species of frogs, toads and tree frogs, females are much larger than males. For example, in the red-eyed tree frog, the female grows to 7.5 cm, but the males only 5 cm.
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Necrophilia…
Among these common amphibians, there is such an unusual phenomenon, which scientists called "functional necrophilia." The fact is that the males of one of the species of Amazonian frogs are ten times greater than the number of females, so during the breeding season they fertilize not only living, but also dead females.
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Burrowing into the ground ...
In the photo: Garlic
The grass frog, or rather its subspecies, at the time of danger, the Garlic can bury itself in the ground almost 1 meter deep, so it can often be found on the beds.
The inhabitant of Latin America, the Amazon slingshot burrows into the ground during the day, leaving only eyes on the surface. This horned frog hunts insects, rodents at night, and even a small mouse, the Amazon vole, gets into its diet.
But the earthen toad has 579 species, 6 of which live in the vast expanses of Russia.
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Unusual views ...
In a huge variety of tailless amphibians there are also quite unusual specimens. So, there is the singing frog Burgerie, although we all know that all frogs have a magnificent voice.
There are blue and yellow frogs. Reds. With all kinds of drawings on the body and head. There is purple, discovered in 2014 in the mountains of India. And they found her so late, as she lives underground.
But the evil shield-bolt at the moment of danger swells, screams strongly and can attack a person.
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Unusual and beautiful names ...
Pictured: Turtle Frog
Scientists, exploring the appearance, or observing the behavior of certain species, sometimes give unusual species names. So, there is a turtle frog, a glass frog, Elena's Flying Frog. But the name of the red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas) comes from the Greek words kallos "beautiful" and dryas "tree nymph".
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Hibernation
Many frogs living in the northern latitudes, during severe frosts, acquired the ability to fall into suspended animation. Glucose is produced, which does not freeze, and in the spring of amphibians, it seemed, already dead, resurrect. Toads, like frogs, become numb in winter.
Since we have touched on the topic of frost, we suggest you familiarize yourself with the coldest places in Russia.
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Record holders
It's no secret that frogs are the best jumpers in the world. A few facts of statistics. Some species living in Australia, while jumping, cover a distance of 50 times their own length. Moreover, the acceleration is 20 m / s.
But the Wallace frogs, who have chosen the islands of Borneo and the tropical forests of Malaysia, can fly up to a distance of 15 m.
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In animation and the Internet ...
Frogs and toads have become popular cartoon characters. Fun and funny, they become the favorite characters of children and adults. It is worth remembering the traveler frog, Thumbelina, a funny cartoon about the frog and his friends.
Widespread image of the green inhabitants of the planet and on the Internet. The whole world knows the meme weeping frog. The name for the frog was invented by an American artist, placing it in his comics. His name is Pepe the frog, and for the first time on the Internet he appeared in 2005, and at first he smiled, and since 2009 he became sad.
In 2018, a video of a dancing frog launched an unusual flash mob around the world. People in different parts of the world. Different ages and nationalities began to imitate a cartoon dancing frog.
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Debunking myths ...
Many people believe that touching frogs or toads can cause warts to appear, but this is not the case. On the contrary, the skin of amphibians has bactericidal properties, and our ancestors threw them into milk so that it does not sour longer. So the frogs served as a kind of living refrigerator.
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Delicacy
The meat of some frogs in many countries of the world is considered a delicacy, and you can’t even mention the eating of frog legs in France. In the countries of the East, especially in Japan, China and Vietnam, there are restaurants that offer to eat these green inhabitants of the planet alive.
Recently, on our website we published an article about dishes in which animals are consumed live. Just in one example of dishes there was a living frog. Want to know more? Follow the link.
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Symbolism…
In conservative Japan, frogs are a symbol of good luck, but in China it is believed that they bring wealth. Agree, because many people have a souvenir frog with a coin in their mouths on the table at home or in the office.
In ancient Egypt, they were mummified together with deceased members of the reigning family and priests, as they were considered a symbol of resurrection.
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Magic
The world of frogs is full of ancient legends and myths. Frogs live in water and on land, and therefore are closely connected by the magic of two elements. The Indians of America believed that they control the rains, and the abundance of frogs in Europe was associated with a plentiful harvest.
The frog was a symbol of the ancient Egyptian goddess Herit, who, with the help of living water, helped Isis to resurrect Osiris.
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Unusual phenomenon ...
The first recorded rain of frogs was described in the Old Testament, in the history of Mankind there are quite a lot of such evidence, but it looks truly bewitching, but, you see, frightening.
Take only the twentieth century. In 1912, a similar rain fell in the American city of Minneapolis. Then thousands of amphibians covered the earth with a layer of 7 cm. In 1957 and 1968, such frog rains fell in Birmingham and the town of Bedford.
Scientists have not yet come to a consensus in explaining this phenomenon, because rain falls not only from frogs, but also from other inhabitants of water bodies.
Summarize
So we learned that this animal, not possessing attractive external data, is nevertheless unique and inimitable, like everything that swims, runs, crawls across our vast planet. Do you have anything to share with us about these beautiful amphibians? If so, leave a message in the comments to the article.
Article author: Valery Skiba