FUN FROG FACTS

FUN FROG FACTS

1. There are 7,116 known amphibian species, of which 6,277 are anurans (frogs and toads), 647 are caudates (newts and salamanders),and 192 are gymnophiones caecilians).

2. The word amphibian is derived from Greek and means ‘two lives’, referring to the fact that most amphibians spend their larval stage as aquatic, herbivorous tadpole, and their adult stage as terrestrial carnivore.  However, some amphibians spend virtually their entire lives in the water (i.e. African clawed frogs Xenopus laevis, and mudpuppies Necturus). Others, like the Puerto Rican coqui Eleutherodactylus coqui or Dunn’s salamander Plethodon dunni from Oregon, spend their entire lives on land: they lay their eggs in moist leaf litter, bypass the tadpole stage and may never enter a water body.

3. Not all frogs have tadpoles. There are many terrestrial frog species that emerge as froglets directly from the egg, bypassing the tadpole stage altogether.

4. Amphibians are the oldest land vertebrates. Ichthyostega was an amphibian species that lived in Greenland 362 million years ago.

5. The smallest frogs are the Paedophryne dekot and Paedophryne verrucosa from Papua New Guinea, sizing in at only only 9 mm in length.

6. The world’s largest frog is the Goliath Frog Conraua goliath, which lives in western Africa. They can grow to be over 30 cm (1 ft) long,and weigh over 3 kg.

7. Most adult frogs have lungs like yours. However, amphibians have permeable skin that allows them to absorb both water and oxygen directly from the environment, right through their skin.

8. A batrachologist is a person who studies amphibians. Formerly, the term herpetologist was used, but this name encompassed those who studied amphibians and/or reptiles.

9. Some species only live a few years, but many live 6 or 7 years. The African Clawed Frog Xenopus laevis and the Green Tree Frog Litoria caerulea can live about 30 years in captivity.

10. Skin secretions from at least three species of Australian frogs (the Green Treefrog Litoria caerulea, the Southern Orange-eyed Treefrog Litoria chloris, and the Green-Eyed Treefrog Litoria genimaculata) can completely inhibit HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.