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Fabulous Frog Facts |
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Some frogs can jump as much as 20 times their own
length.
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Some types of frogs have a round iris in their
eyes, but some have horizontal slits, some have vertical slits, and some are even
triangular or heart-shaped.
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The smallest frog in the world is from Cuba, and
is only 1/2" long. The
largest frog in the world is from West Africa (Conraua goliath) and is about 12 inches
long.
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The red-eyed tree frog from Central America lays its eggs on leaves that
are over the water. When the eggs hatch, the tadpoles fall into the water below.
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Because frogs have eyes and nostrils that are on
the tops of their heads, they can see and breathe while the rest of the body is under
water. Adult frogs breathe with lungs, but also absorb oxygen
through their skin. |
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Frogs have smooth skin, and long legs to help them
leap. Toads have drier warty
skin and short legs, and they move by crawling or hopping rather than by leaping. Technically, though, toads are just a type
of frog. |
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There are over 4000 species of frogs in the world,
though only 88 species in the US and Canada.
They are all over the world, except for Antarctica and Iceland.
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Some tree frogs live their whole lives in the
trees, and never come down. They even lay their eggs in the tree branches
or on leaves. |
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Some frogs lay as many as 25000 eggs while others
may lay as few as 4.
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Frog Myths and Legends |
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The frog has been a symbol of prosperity, wealth,
and abundance in some cultures; fertility in others. The people of Ireland believed them
to be close relatives of the leprechaun and capable of playing tricks on you when least
expected.
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In the Native American culture of
the Southwest, the frog carries a piece of wood in its mouth because the
Mojave people believe frogs brought fire to humans. |
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The three-legged toad from China
is the traditional pet of the immortal Liu Hai, who is also the Chinese
god of wealth. This toad would convey him to any place he wished to go.
Occasionally it would escape down a well, and he would lure it out with a
line baited with gold coins. This toad is a symbol for riches, and is
often pictured with a gold coin in its mouth. |
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The frog was an ancient Egyptian
symbol, later adopted by the conquering Romans. The Frog-headed goddess
Hekt was the goddess of birth and fertility, and later also of
resurrection. |
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Legends from China and India say the world rests
on the back of a giant three-legged frog. If the frog moves, it causes an earthquake.
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Do you love frogs? Be sure to visit
The Frog Store
for all sorts of frog gifts, novelties, and collectibles! |
| Frog
Facts and Photos |
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Want to learn more about frogs? We'll keep this page loaded with frog photos and factoids. Submit your pet frog's photo
and biography or an interesting frog fact by E-mailing
froggie@frogstore.com . And, when you're done here, be sure to visit the Internet's largest all-frog gift shop at
www.frogstore.com for frog gifts, novelties, and collectibles!
Before you read any further, you have to say "Free Fun Frog Facts"
five times fast. Having fun now? Cool.
Frog photos from the San Francisco
Exploratorium:
Froggie the Frog Store Proprietor took these
photos with an Olympus digital camera in June 1999. Click on the small
thumbnails to see larger photos. Stop by the Exploratorium if you get a chance -
it's a fun place!
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Leopard Frog
(Rana pipiens) This is a typical
jumping frog, with powerful back legs. It's native to the NE and N-Central
US. |
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African
Clawed Frog
(Xenopus laevis)
This
frog has big webbed hind feet, and is a good swimmer. Though it lacks the
vocal sack present in most frogs & toads, its call can be loud enough
to be heard outside of the water. African clawed frogs were once used for
pregnancy tests. The woman's urine was injected into a female Clawed Frog,
and if the frog began to lay eggs then the woman was pregnant. |
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Fire-Bellied
Toad (Bombina orientalis)
From
Korea and north China, this frog has a spotted camouflaged back. When
startled, it flips over or bends backward to show its bright belly as a
warning - poisonous! This toad lacks the vocal sack that is present in
most other frogs & toads, so its call is very weak and can only be
heard over very short distances. |
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Smoky Jungle
Frog
(Leptodactylus pentadactylus)
From
the Amazon Basin in South America, this big frog is 5"-6" long.
It spends most of its time in the jungle, away from ponds and streams. To
keep her eggs moist, the female oozes a liquid from her body, beats it
into a frothy foam with her back feet, and deposits her eggs in the foam.
The outside of the foam hardens into a shell that protects the eggs and
keeps them moist. |
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Western Spadefoot Toad
(Scaphiopus hammondii)
Native to California, the Spadefoot toad buries itself in the ground during most
of the day. It waits for a rainstorm to lay its eggs, and the tadpoles develop into frogs in
just two weeks - hopefully before the puddle dries up! |
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Gulf Coast
Toad (Bufo valliceps)
This
toad is found in Louisiana, Texas, and along the east coast of Mexico. Its
tongue is attached at the front of its mouth, and it flips out its tongue
to grab bugs. |
Frog photos from the San Diego Zoo:
These photos were taken in January 1999 at the San Diego Zoo's frog exhibit
by Froggie, the Frog Store's Chief Frogperson,
using an Olympus D-600L digital camera. Click on the small thumbnails to see larger
photos, and feel free to download them and use them as you wish! |
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Argentine Leaf-Folding
Frog (Phyllomedusa sauvagii)
These frogs reproduce by depositing a gelatinous clutch of eggs into a leaf
funnel over water, by folding a leaf and gluing it together with a sticky bodily secretion.
Tadpoles hatch and fall into the water below! |
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Smooth-Sided Toad
(Bufo guttatus) The "warts" behind the eyes are called
parotid glands, and produce powerful toxins that interfere with a predators heart function
if ingested. In other words, eating this toad could cause death due to heart failure. Is
it OK to just kiss the toad? |
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Dyeing Poison Arrow Frog
(Dendrobates tinctorius) This poison arrow frog is found in Guyana,
French Guinea, and Surinam along the northern Brazilian border. Toxins from the frog's
skin must enter the bloodstream to be lethal. Natives believe that an irritated frog, when
rubbed on a bald spot of a parrot, will cause the feathers to grow in red. Cool! - but,
not verified. |
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Blue Poison Arrow Frog
(Dendrobates azureus) One of the largest poison arrow frogs, up to
2" long, this frog is found only in a single partially wooded savannah region of
Surinam. It was discovered in 1969. A spawning frog lays just 4-6 eggs under leaves by a
pool. Fortunately, these rare frogs have been successfully bred in captivity. |
Oregon Coast Aquarium Frog Photos:
The following photos were taken at the Oregon Coast Aquarium frog exhibit by
our own distinguished Frog Store proprietor.
In the interest of worldwide frog awareness, you may download and use these photos free,
as long as they are not used for immoral or socially unacceptable purposes! If you make
money with these photos, we suggest you use it to buy frog stuff.Click on these shamelessly compressed files to bring up higher quality
images (about 30KB jpeg files). Photos were taken with an Olympus D-600L digital camera,
then cropped and resampled to make them smaller.
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The Tomato Frog
(Dyscophus antongilii) is from Madagascar. This species is endangered, but
there is a species of Tomato Frog called Dyscophus guineti that is not
endangered and is sometimes available from reptile dealers. |
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These
three little White's Tree Frogs (Pelodryas caerulea) are nestled in the fork of a tree in a
small puddle of water. These frogs are from Australia. |
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The
Red-Legged Frog (Rana aurora) is from northwestern North America. This one is about 2-1/2
inches long. |
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These little guys
are Pacific Tree Frogs (Pseudacris regilla), and they're 1 to 1-1/2 inches long. They are
found in western North America. |
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This
African Bullfrog (Pyxicephalus adspersus) looked like he was having a bad frog day! He's
huge and warty, a good 6" across the middle, and had settled himself into a nice mud
puddle. A fully grown one can be the size of a football! |
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This is a picture of a 'banana box' frog, sent by Craig
Cleeland from Australia. Actually it is a Dainty Green Tree Frog from Queensland,
Australia but these frogs grab a ride on produce such as bananas as they are
shipped down south to places like Victoria. It is estimated that 6,000 to 8,000
frogs end up in Melbourne (Victoria, Aust.) from Queensland each year.
There is a group called the Victorian Frog Group that go
around and collect the frogs before they are thrown back out into the
environment to die of exposure (cold) and possibly also spread diseases.
Three cheers for Craig and the Victorian Frog Rescuers!!
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Randall and Sharla
of Baker City, OR
sent in this wonderful photo
of a Pacific Tree Frog
that they spotted
while on a hike. |
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Becky, a
self-confessed frog freak, sent in this photo and says:
"We went outside to sit on the swing the other night and saw this cutey on
our huge hostas plant. Just sat their letting me take a ton of pics! You
can't see it but he has a bright yellow underside, just so pretty!" (This
is in NW Arkansas.)Froglady Sabine
from Wisconsin wrote to say she thinks this is a northern cricket frog. They
are quite small and delicate, becoming rare in some areas where they used to
be prevalent like here in Wisconsin and make a sound like someone clacking
river stones together when they sing. |
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Meldra writes: "This little guy jumped from our
driveway into a box we had waiting for a good burn day. I found him peeking
up over the edge -- he did leave the box before we burned it. Photo taken
with my Nikon 995 digital camera, in Washougal, WA." (Pacific Tree Frog) |
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Beth found this pretty little Northern Leopard Frog
on a canoe trip down the Missouri River in Montana. |
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These three photos were sent
in by Bart van Oijen from Holland. The two photos above show the common
brown frog, Rana
Temporaria. The photo at left is the
common green frog,
Rana Esculenta.
Bart writes:
Hereby you find a frog who jumped on my
camera! Am I lucky to have a spare camera... With kind regards from
frogcountry Holland. |
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