In order to describe all the frogs and toads that live on the American continents (South and North America), a multi-volume publication will be required. Representatives of tailless amphibians are striking in their number and diversity. Some of them live all over the world, others have exclusively “American” registration. Let's get acquainted with the main frog families and their most amazing representatives.
Horned frogs
Representatives of this genus got their name from the sharp growths above the eyes. Such horns give the animals the most strange appearance. The color can be varied, often a color scheme, for example, black-brown or red-brown, becomes an ideal camouflage. You cannot immediately identify a frozen individual as Living being. In America there are:
Amazonian slingshot, found in the Amazon Basin.
Decorated, as the name implies, the amphibian’s skin is decorated with a “cheerful” ornament.
Chakskaya, very voracious, is ready to eat her brother, and with great hunger, even her own skin.
The Brazilian slingshot is a rather large specimen and a “serious predator”: its powerful jaws allow it to deal with rodents and birds. They are not averse to dining with their fellow creatures: they are capable of swallowing other amphibians and reptiles if they are at least a little smaller than the hunter. It is surprising that these slingshots cannot jump, but prefer to walk.
Real frogs
In almost all US states and Canada you can find the beautiful leopard frog.
Its closest sisters - spotted, lowland, forest and noisy - are quite common. They rarely grow more than 5–8 cm and are fertile. For example, a female noisy can lay up to 7 thousand eggs at a time.
Toads
These close relatives of frogs are diverse and quite common on both continents.
Harlequins, there are more than 50 varieties of them, they have well mastered the territory from Bolivia to Costra Rica. The name speaks for itself: harlequins are very brightly colored. All produce poisons of varying degrees of toxicity; they have long been used by indigenous people to lubricate arrowheads. The bright color warns: I am very dangerous. Look at different representatives of the harlequin family, you will appreciate their colorful “robe”.
An amphibian that “does not like” water uses it, if possible, only for laying eggs and during the growth of tadpoles. But the multi-colored one willingly runs and climbs and swims, but cannot jump. It itself is poisonous and eats the same ones: spiders, wasps.
This “beauty”, almost merging with the surrounding leaves, is unsafe; if the poison gets into the human digestive tract, then an acute attack of heart failure is guaranteed. The Colorado potato is less dangerous to humans; its poison is fatal only to small animals. There have been recorded cases of death of hunting dogs who had the temerity to grab “easy prey.”
- one of the largest in the world, reaching 24 centimeters in length.
Following her is the Toad-aga, she is smaller, but at the same time quite poisonous. Only the bullfrog, up to 25 centimeters long, which also lives in America, can compare with them in size. Only the African goliath frog is larger than them, up to 32 centimeters long with a long jump of 3 meters.
In North America there lives a rare representative of fossil toads that have survived to this day - the long-nosed toad, and in the southeast you can meet another “charming” one - the cone-headed toad.
Tree frogs
This order of tailless amphibians includes:
Earless tree frogs, which prefer the northeast of the South American continent. Their body and head are slightly flattened. And spend free time they love in trees. And in Southern lives an amazing frog from the tree frog family. It’s a paradox, but an adult reaches a size of only 5 centimeters, and the tadpoles grow up to 25. There is also a poisonous tree frog – the Brazilian tree frog, with blood-red spots on its back.
Phyllomedusa. IN South America There are several types. Upper Amazonian, looks like a very cute and slightly unhappy creature. It lays its eggs under the leaves; as soon as the tadpoles hatch, they immediately fall into the water. Her neighbors and closest relatives: Wollunkuk, bicolor.
Geographic tree frog She got her name for her color. However, the pearl one was named according to the same principle: for the white spots on the back. And the oarsman tree frog was so nicknamed for the sounds it makes, they resemble the noise of an oar descending into the water. Accordingly, the blacksmith tree frog screams so loudly that it seems like metal is being hit with a huge hammer. As you can see, the discoverers of these amphibians did not bother themselves too much in finding names. A relative from the North American states imitates the barking of dogs, her name is the barking tree frog, and in Canada and Hudson Bay there lives a whistling tree frog.
Whistling
Representatives of this family are united by the ability to make whistling sounds when moving. The ocellated whistler has spots with a border on its skin, very similar to eyes. And the five-fingered one is famous for the fact that it calmly eats its deadly relatives - poison dart frogs. And he himself is quite poisonous, sometimes just standing next to him is enough to start sneezing.
Shieldbacks
The evil shieldback is an active predator that is not averse to “inviting” its relative to dinner. And then eat it, cannibalism is common in this species.
The cocoon scutum is not afraid of drought; it simply remains in a dry body of water. Every day she sheds, but does not shed her skin, as a result a protective cocoon is formed.
Narrowmouths
A rare species lives on the South American continent - the armored narrowmouth. And his place of residence is unusual - this little frog prefers to live... underground. Like its distant relatives - Holbrook's spadefoot, plains and lamb's toads, North American and Dakota toads from North America. But the dark-sided narrowmouth is quite content with the deciduous carpets of tropical forests.
This family is unusual in that the father takes care of the offspring. After the female has laid eggs, he fertilizes them and... sends them into his mouth. Future children are safe there, the throat pouch is not only protection, but also additional nutrition due to circulatory system father. This does not interfere with eating, the eggs “grow together” with the walls of the sac, and you cannot accidentally swallow them. As soon as the babies are formed, they leave the incubator mouth.
Peeps
No less interesting way caring for offspring among the Surinamese pipa. Here the mother becomes the main one. After the male fertilizes the eggs in the water, she dives under them and catches them on her back. The father actively helps, pressing them on the mother's back with his paws. After this, the female grows a special skin film that covers the incubator. Once the baby frogs are fully formed, they break through the skin and climb out. After this, the mother’s back resembles... an empty egg cage, covered in cells.
World rankings
Frogs and their varieties live not only in North and South America. They are distributed all over the world. The diversity of these amphibians makes it possible to organize real competitions in different categories. Let's find out who is the best among them.
Attractive and deadly
This category presents those beauties whose poison can lead to instant or long-term and painful death. By the way, in some cases there is simply no antidote. So, who should not be touched, but can only be admired:
- bicolor phyllomedusa with venom that has a hallucinogenic “effect”;
- a spotted poison dart frog with a poisonous skin, by the way, local residents use the secreted secretion to... breed new breeds of parrots, it has a strange effect on their plumage - it changes their color;
- the redback, which lives by the “don’t touch” principle, releases poison only when there is danger;
- the little poison dart frog is colored according to its ability: it is red and stings, the burns can be quite deep;
- spotted poisonous one portion of secretion can kill 5 people;
- leaf climbers: striped with nerve paralytic and three-banded with analgesic poisons (the latter species is capable of producing an “analog” of morphine).
These frog leaders are so formidable.
Rare species
Unfortunately, man, through his activities and activity in mastering wildlife caused a lot of harm. Some amphibians are almost never seen. The rarest are:
- golden toad;
- frogs: grass, horned, slippery tree frogs;
- no less rare are frogs with unusual names: “hourglass”, “mesh glass”, “eyelashes”.
Unusual
In each family you can find its own unique one. The “unusual” category includes frogs:
- hairy: not only do the patches of skin on males resemble hair during mating, but she can also break through the skin with her knuckles, turning her paw into a formidable weapon with sharp claws;
- When in danger, the badjeta is inflated into a perfectly round ball;
- Panamanians communicate with each other not only by whistling, but also by “gestures”;
- and the sharp-faced swamp completely changes color during the mating season, simply turning blue in anticipation of a pleasant meeting;
- the Indian rainbow is capable of changing color, which it does constantly, and not completely, but “in parts”;
- glass or transparent - no comments, just a jumping “anatomical manual”;
- When you see a moss tree (lives in China), you won’t immediately understand whether it’s a living creature or a piece of moss on a rock;
- and the luminous night one, on the contrary, is clearly visible, especially in the dark;
- the flying one uses its membranes to jump long distances, well, like a flying squirrel;
- The lemur phyllomedusa with its eyes is very reminiscent of... a lemur.
Here they are, amazing and unusual representatives of amphibians, living in different parts of the world. Charming, aren't they?
The paradoxical frog is often called the Guiana water toad, paradoxical toad, or harlequin frog. This name fully corresponds to the appearance of the frog: its hind limbs are decorated with dark brown or black transverse stripes.
Many zoologists classify the paradoxical frog as a member of the tree frog family due to the presence of a thumb that can be opposed to other fingers. However, tree frogs live in trees, and five subspecies of the amazing frog prefer aquatic environment habitats and rarely go onto land.
External signs of a paradoxical frog
The body of the paradoxical frog is covered with very smooth and slippery skin. The back is olive green and covered with black or brown spots. The abdomen is colored yellow, hind legs with noticeable dark transverse stripes.
Swimming membranes are stretched between the toes of the hind limbs. The first toe on the forelimb is freely opposed to the others. The nostrils are located superiorly. Eyes with a high set on the crown. The oval-shaped pupils are divided by a horizontal longitudinal axis.
History of the discovery of the species
Priority in describing the amazing frog belongs to the German artist and entomologist Maria Sibylla Merian. In 1700, in Suriname, she made the first drawing depicting a rare amphibian, but made an absurd assumption about the ability of a frog to turn into a fish if necessary.
Distribution of the paradoxical frog
The paradoxical frog is distributed from northern Argentina to the Pantanal, Guiana, and Venezuela. It lives in the basins of the Amazon, Orinoco, and La Plata rivers, and is also found on the island of Trinidad.
Habitats of paradoxical frogs
The paradoxical frog chooses stagnant or low-flowing water bodies for its habitat. The amphibian often inhabits swamps, slow-flowing rivers, silted ponds, lagoons, and lakes.
Eating the Amazing Frog
Paradoxical frogs feed on insects and their larvae, and other invertebrates.
The paradoxical frog is a nocturnal amphibian. Features of the behavior of the paradoxical frog
The paradoxical frog is aquatic and nocturnal, hiding in thickets of aquatic plants. He behaves very carefully and cautiously. It slowly floats to the surface of the water, sticks out only its nostrils and eyes, inspecting the reservoir and replenishing its air supply.
In case of any danger, the paradoxical frog instantly hides, burrowing into the silt, where it finds a safe shelter or gets food.
Amphibian foraging in an original way: rakes a hole in the mud with its front paws, looks out for disturbed worms, larvae, crustaceans and deftly catches invertebrates with its long thin fingers.
The extraordinary length of the fingers is determined by the presence of additional bones in each finger. The amazing frog crushes the caught prey with its palatal teeth. When a period of prolonged drought occurs, the paradoxical frog buries itself deep in the mud and waits for the rainy season. The frog's skin secretes a special mucus that protects the body from drying out.
Reproduction and development of the paradoxical frog
During the breeding season, the male paradoxical frog makes sounds similar to the grunting of a pig. The resonators amplify the signals, and the loud grunting is somewhat reminiscent of bass opera singer. The female lays a foamy mass with eggs on the leaves of aquatic plants, and soon amazing green tadpoles are born. This is how the famous naturalist Darrell described his amazement when meeting them: “their color was not black, but speckled, greenish-gray.
The transparent edges of their tails were like frosted glass, and their big-lipped mouths were comically pouty, as if they were blowing kisses to us through the glass. The sight of such huge tadpoles, wriggling and spinning tirelessly in the jar, instills a feeling of some creepiness.” They are quite voracious and grow quickly.
The body of paradoxical frogs secretes the hormone prolactin, which stimulates the growth process.
Tadpoles reach a length of 24-27 cm and look like real giants compared to the size of adult frogs. Only the cephalothorax of the larvae is about 9 cm long, while the adult reaches a size of 4.5-7.5 cm. Such giant tadpoles are more reminiscent of fish and are the largest larvae among amphibians.
In 1886, Samuel Gormon traced the full development of a tadpole; it turned out that before the onset of metamorphosis, giant tadpoles begin to catastrophically decrease in size. In the process of transformation, the caudal fin is greatly shortened, the cephalothorax is reduced, everything internal organs. A small, shy frog appears, only 4 cm long, and grows slowly to 7 cm.
Further life now depends on favorable conditions and abundance of food. It was this unusual metamorphosis that gave the species its name – the paradoxical frog.
The meaning of the paradoxical frog
In South America, the paradoxical frog is hunted by local residents. They consider frog meat to be a valuable and healthy food. Of particular value are giant tadpoles, which are caught with fish or fishing rods, using grasshoppers as bait.
The paradoxical frog is rarely kept as a pet. Scientists around the world turned their attention to the amazing amphibian after the pseudodin-2 peptide was isolated from its body in 2008 at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland. Doctors believe that this substance can stimulate the formation of the hormone insulin in human body and it can be used in the treatment of various forms of diabetes.
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The name is given due to the size of the tadpoles, exceeding the size adult 3–4 times.
Description
The length of an adult is 4.5–7 cm. The head is triangular. The eyes are large and protruding. The skin is slippery, making it easy to evade enemies. The paws are large, with membranes between the toes. Each finger has an additional joint, which provides freedom of movement. The color is green, with dark green or olive stripes. Females stand out with a bright throat with chaotically located white spots.
Lifestyle
Amazing frog It is found in hard-to-reach forest areas and is quite widespread there. Prefers stagnant, overgrown bodies of water in which it is convenient for her to hide. At the sight of even a slight danger, she quickly hides under water and hides in the thickets. Spends almost its entire life in water. She is constantly on the move; when resting on the surface of the water, you can only see its large eyes and nostrils. The paradoxical frog makes high-pitched, squealing sounds.
Nutrition
Adult frogs eat larvae, small insects and crustaceans, digging them out from the bottom of reservoirs. Tadpoles feed mainly on plant matter. Due to their size, they require much more food than adults and are constantly searching for it.
Reproduction
Frogs reproduce and breed in water. Their mating season begins during the rainy season. Females lay eggs among the thickets. The larvae reach 25–27 cm in length. During metamorphosis, the larva loses its gills, develops lungs, grows limbs, and changes its body shape. The tail shortens and the larva decreases in size daily; As a result, the length of an adult individual with the usual dimensions for tree frogs is only 1/4 the length of the larva.
Area
It lives in South America from northern Argentina to Venezuela and about. Trinidad, predominantly in the Amazon basin.
The Amazing Frog in Literature
The tadpoles of this amazing frog are mentioned in the book “Three Tickets to Adventure” by the famous English naturalist Gerald Durrell. This is how he describes them:
American herpetologist Archie Carr in his book “The Windward Road” devoted an entire chapter to this frog “Chapter Six “The Mysterious Frog””With the exception of their colossal size, they were no different from the tadpoles that can be caught in the spring in any English pond, except that their color was not black, but mottled, greenish-gray. The transparent edges of their tails were like frosted glass, and their big-lipped mouths were comically pouty, as if they were blowing kisses to us through the glass. The sight of such huge tadpoles, wriggling and spinning tirelessly in the jar, instills a feeling of some creepiness. Imagine your fear if, while walking through the forest, you come face to face with an ant the size of a terrier or a bumblebee the size of a thrush. They seem to be ordinary, but, enlarged to fantastic sizes, they produce a stunning impression, and you involuntarily ask yourself whether you are dreaming about all this.
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Notes
Literature
- Dave Showler: Frogs and Toads. St. Martin's Press, New York 2004, ISBN 0-312-32241-0, S. 151.
- Grzimek, Bernhard Het leven de dieren deel V:Vissen (II) en amfibieën, Kindler Verlag AG, 1971, Pagina 498 (erroneous)
Excerpt characterizing The Amazing Frog
Pierre, a few days before, had set Friday as the day of his departure for St. Petersburg. When he woke up on Thursday, Savelich came to him for orders about packing his things for the road.“How about St. Petersburg? What is St. Petersburg? Who's in St. Petersburg? – he asked involuntarily, although to himself. “Yes, something like that a long, long time ago, even before this happened, I was planning to go to St. Petersburg for some reason,” he remembered. - From what? I'll go, maybe. How kind and attentive he is, how he remembers everything! - he thought, looking at Savelich’s old face. “And what a pleasant smile!” - he thought.
- Well, don’t you want to go free, Savelich? – asked Pierre.
- Why do I need freedom, Your Excellency? We lived under the late count, the kingdom of heaven, and we see no resentment under you.
- Well, what about the children?
“And the children will live, your Excellency: you can live with such gentlemen.”
- Well, what about my heirs? - said Pierre. “What if I get married... It could happen,” he added with an involuntary smile.
“And I dare to report: a good deed, your Excellency.”
“How easy he thinks it is,” thought Pierre. “He doesn’t know how scary it is, how dangerous it is.” Too early or too late... Scary!
- How would you like to order? Would you like to go tomorrow? – Savelich asked.
- No; I'll put it off a little. I'll tell you then. “Excuse me for the trouble,” said Pierre and, looking at Savelich’s smile, he thought: “How strange, however, that he does not know that now there is no Petersburg and that first of all it is necessary for this to be decided. However, he probably knows, but he’s only pretending. Talk to him? What does he think? - thought Pierre. “No, someday later.”
At breakfast, Pierre told the princess that he had been to Princess Marya yesterday and found there - can you imagine who? - Natalie Rostov.
The princess pretended that she did not see anything more extraordinary in this news than in the fact that Pierre had seen Anna Semyonovna.
- Do you know her? – asked Pierre.
“I saw the princess,” she answered. “I heard that they were marrying her to young Rostov.” This would be very good for the Rostovs; They say they are completely ruined.
- No, do you know Rostov?
“I only heard about this story then.” Very sorry.
“No, she doesn’t understand or is pretending,” thought Pierre. “It’s better not to tell her either.”
The princess also prepared provisions for Pierre's journey.
“How kind they all are,” thought Pierre, “that now, when they probably couldn’t be more interested in this, they are doing all this. And everything for me; That’s what’s amazing.”
On the same day, the police chief came to Pierre with a proposal to send a trustee to the Faceted Chamber to receive the things that were now being distributed to the owners.
“This one too,” thought Pierre, looking into the police chief’s face, “what a nice, handsome officer and how kind!” Now he deals with such trifles. They also say that he is not honest and takes advantage of him. What nonsense! But why shouldn’t he use it? That's how he was raised. And everyone does it. And such a pleasant, kind face, and smiles, looking at me.”
Pierre went to dinner with Princess Marya.
Driving through the streets between the burned-out houses, he was amazed at the beauty of these ruins. The chimneys of houses and fallen walls, picturesquely reminiscent of the Rhine and the Colosseum, stretched, hiding each other, along the burnt blocks. The cab drivers and riders we met, the carpenters who cut the log houses, the traders and shopkeepers, all with cheerful, beaming faces, looked at Pierre and said as if: “Ah, here he is! Let's see what comes out of this."
Upon entering the house of Princess Marya, Pierre was filled with doubt as to the justice of the fact that he was here yesterday, saw Natasha and spoke with her. “Maybe I made it up. Maybe I’ll walk in and not see anyone.” But before he had time to enter the room, in his entire being, after the instant deprivation of his freedom, he felt her presence. She was wearing the same black dress with soft folds and the same hairstyle as yesterday, but she was completely different. If she had been like this yesterday when he entered the room, he could not have failed to recognize her for a moment.
Or Guiana water toad(lat. Pseudis paradoxa) is a tailless amphibian from the tree frog family that lives in South America. The name is given because of the size of the tadpoles, which are 3–4 times larger than the size of an adult.
- 1 Description
- 2 Lifestyle
- 3 Food
- 4 Reproduction
- 5 Area
- 6 The Amazing Frog in Literature
- 7 Notes
- 8 Literature
Description
The length of an adult is 4.5–7 cm. The head is triangular. The eyes are large and protruding. The skin is slippery, making it easy to evade enemies. The paws are large, with membranes between the toes. Each finger has an additional joint, which provides freedom of movement. The color is green, with dark green or olive stripes. Females stand out with a bright throat with chaotically located white spots.
Lifestyle
This amazing frog is found in hard-to-reach forest areas and is quite widespread in them. Prefers stagnant, overgrown bodies of water in which it is convenient for her to hide. At the sight of even a slight danger, she quickly hides under water and hides in the thickets. Spends almost its entire life in water. She is constantly on the move; when resting on the surface of the water, you can only see its large eyes and nostrils. The paradoxical frog makes high-pitched, squealing sounds.
Nutrition
Adult frogs eat larvae, small insects and crustaceans, digging them out from the bottom of reservoirs. Tadpoles feed mainly on plant matter. Due to their size, they require much more food than adults and are constantly searching for it.
Reproduction
Frogs reproduce and breed in water. Their mating season begins during the rainy season. Females lay eggs among the thickets. The larvae reach 25–27 cm in length. During metamorphosis, the larva loses its gills, develops lungs, grows limbs, and changes its body shape. The tail shortens and the larva decreases in size daily; As a result, the length of an adult individual with the usual dimensions for tree frogs is only 1/4 the length of the larva.
Area
It lives in South America from northern Argentina to Venezuela and about. Trinidad, mainly in the Amazon basin.
The Amazing Frog in Literature
The tadpoles of this amazing frog are mentioned in the book “Three Tickets to Adventure” by the famous English naturalist Gerald Durrell. This is how he describes them:
With the exception of their colossal size, they were no different from the tadpoles that can be caught in the spring in any English pond, except that their color was not black, but mottled, greenish-gray. The transparent edges of their tails were like frosted glass, and their big-lipped mouths were comically pouty, as if they were blowing kisses to us through the glass. The sight of such huge tadpoles, wriggling and spinning tirelessly in the jar, instills a feeling of some creepiness. Imagine your fear if, while walking through the forest, you come face to face with an ant the size of a terrier or a bumblebee the size of a thrush. They seem to be ordinary, but, enlarged to fantastic sizes, they produce a stunning impression, and you involuntarily ask yourself whether you are dreaming about all this.
American herpetologist Archie Carr in his book “The Windward Road” devoted an entire chapter to this frog “Chapter Six “The Mysterious Frog””
Notes
- 1 2 Ananyeva N. B., Borkin L. Ya., Darevsky I. S., Orlov N. L. Five-language dictionary of animal names. Amphibians and reptiles. Latin, Russian, English, German, French. / under the general editorship of academician. V. E. Sokolova. - M.: Rus. lang., 1988. - P. 110. - 10,500 copies. - ISBN 5-200-00232-X.
Literature
- Dave Showler: Frogs and Toads. St. Martin's Press, New York 2004, ISBN 0-312-32241-0, S. 151.
- Grzimek, Bernhard Het leven de dieren deel V:Vissen (II) en amfibieën, Kindler Verlag AG, 1971, Pagina 498 ISBN 90 274 8625 (erroneous)
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Amazing Frog Information About
So, today is Saturday, June 10, 2017, and we traditionally offer you answers to the quiz in the “Question and Answer” format. We encounter questions ranging from the simplest to the most complex. The quiz is very interesting and quite popular, we are simply helping you test your knowledge and make sure that you have chosen the correct answer out of the four proposed. And we have another question in the quiz - What happens to an American frog tadpole as it grows into an adult?
- A. becomes moldy
- B. decreases in size
- C. grows wings
- D. changes gender
The correct answer is B - REDUCES IN SIZE
Frogs reproduce and breed in water. Their mating season begins during the rainy season. Females lay eggs among the thickets. Tadpoles reach 25 cm in length. During metamorphosis, the tadpole loses its gills, its lungs develop, its limbs grow, and its body shape changes. The tail shortens and the tadpole decreases in size daily; as a result, the adult is only 1/4 the length of the tadpole.