frog
a frog
a kind of animal – amphibian (fresh-water) {‘amphibian’ = an animal that lives early part of its life in water and the later part on land, or mostly in water or mostly on land) – small with smooth wet body, large protruding eyes, wide mouth and a sticky tongue which helps it to catch flying and fast moving crawling insects, without a tail or hair, and a pair of strong back (hind) legs with partly webbed feet (depending on the lifestyle of the frog: if the frog lives mostly in water, it has almost full webbed-feet; and if the frog lives on land or in trees, it has partial webbed feet; and in some kinds, like the ‘flying frog of Asia’, both front and back feet are webbed) and a pair of relatively short front legs, and in different colours; cold-blooded (‘cold-blooded’ is the old usage, the present word for this feature is ‘ectothermic’); size varies greatly: from as little as 0.39 of an inch to as large as 1 foot long; feeds on (eats) insects (small frogs eat insects, and large frogs eat insects, worms, and even small fish); lives for about 40 years (maximum lifespan? lifespan of a frog depends on the availability of food, the weather conditions, including pollution, and the number of predators in that region); found in, near or around ponds, streams, lakes, and wet areas worldwide (mostly in the tropics and subtropics rainforests), except in Antarctica, and some islands of the oceans
life cycle of a frog
female ~~ cow (?)
baby ~~ (early stage) tadpole, polliwogs; (later stage) froglet
group ~~ colony, knot, army, nest, arm
voice (call) ~~ crock, chirp, ribbit
movement ~~ leap, jump, climb, dive (into water)
The ‘Arizona tree frog’ is the state amphibian of Arizona; the ‘American green tree frog’ – Georgia, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma; the ‘North American bullfrog’ – Iowa; the ‘Northern leopard frog – Minnesota, Vermont; the ‘Pacific chorus frog’ – Washington of the United States of America.
Frogs can also breathe through their skin.
Most frogs do not have teeth but some do have very small teeth-like growth on the upper jaw, which the frogs use for holding the prey from escaping, but not to bite or crush it. (‘prey’ = the other animals they eat). Frogs have ears with eardrums with which they can hear very well!
a long sticky tongue
Frogs have long stick tongues with which they catch their prey; there are, however, 6-14 species of frogs that do not have a tongue at all!!
Frogs are known to return to the same pond or stream where they were born to lay their eggs.
Most frogs are poisonous, particularly the most colourful ones!
Frogs can jump a distance 50 times their body size! The world record being 33 feet and 5.5 inches long!!
Frogs are a food source, though not main or important; their legs are eaten as a special item of food (delicacy) in several European and Asian countries!
air-sac of a frog
Frogs make their calls (sounds) closing their mouth; some species using their air sacs, that blow up like bubble gum, under their throat, to amplify the sound!
Frogs are often mentioned in folklore and fairy tales. They are used in the stories to point out that beauty is only external, and true love does not see the external beauty alone. As in fairy tales, the beautiful princess kisses the ugly frog (or toad) out of compassion, and the frog (or toad) which is actually a handsome prince or a young, brave man who has been under an evil spell returns to his original form, and they get married and live happily ever after!!
an dult frog with a tail
Frogs have been used extensively in scientific research and in laboratories for dissection (= cutting up the animal in order to learn about the inner body parts) and study purposes. Frogs are also used in cloning research!!
All frogs are born with a tail, but in the adult stage, frogs do not have tails.
However, there are two species of frog — the ‘coastal tailed frog’ and the ‘mountain tailed frog’ which have tails even in their adult stage!
About the Author:BC Kumar
BC Kumar, an English Language Teacher, taught in numerous countries including Ethiopia, Oman and India, shares his knowledge and passion for the English Language. Disclaimer: This is a free educational website and all content has been compiled by the author. All copyrights to images and videos belong to their respective owners.
