Frog Frenzy
Frogs are Toadily Cool!
When I was a kid we had an irrigation ditch running into a pond by our house. Frogs (and toads) were plentiful! We knew spring had finally arrived when the frogs were singing us to sleep. To this day, I love the sound of frogs croaking. Croaking that is, not croaking.
My siblings and I always had a wonderful time trying, and sometimes even succeeding, to catch frogs. FYI - toads are easier to catch. We always let them go. For some reason, Mom wasn't too keen on us bringing in a couple of frogs with us at bedtime. Trying to find frog eggs and tadpoles in the pond was another adventure. Often one in futility. The reeds and cattails made excellent cover for the wee things.
Then we moved and I grew older. No longer were frogs singing me to sleep. On came college, marriage, kids and several more moves. But eventually things came full circle and I had my own home with an irrigation ditch running by. Still no frogs singing me to sleep though.
I didn't notice at first, but eventually I got to wondering where the frogs were. Since there was no pond nearby, I figured that the lack of still water kept the frog population from being able to successfully reproduce. But still, shouldn't adult frogs follow the water each year? Shouldn't I be able to hear at least a few frogs?
But after 3 years of silence, I am once again able to open my window and listen to frogs sing as I fall asleep.
I don't know why they're here or what changed to bring them here. I'm just so glad that they are.
Fun Frog Facts
Frogs are amphibians, not reptiles.Some frogs make so much noise that they can be heard for miles.
Frogs can jump over 20 times their own length. That's like a 5 foot tall person jumping 100 feet
Frogs drink and get some of their oxygen through their skin.
Frogs eat their old skin after they shed it.
Frogs in the environment are a true sign of a well balanced ecosystem.
Some frogs can adjust their color according to changes in light, moisture, temperature, or even mood.
The earliest known frog appeared during the late Jurassic period, about 190 million years ago. And the skeletal shape and body plan of the frog has remained almost unchanged ever since.
You get warts from human viruses, not from frogs and toads.
A group of frogs is called an army of frogs and a group of toads is called a knot of toads.
Frog Photos
Can't get enough of 'em
Frogs are pretty darn photogenic! Even when they aren't real.
Go ahead, pick your favorite. We want to know.
Frog and Toad
Books that just have to be read!
If you have children, these are books that you should be reading to them. If you don't have kids, then it is worth getting some just to have someone to read the books to!
Frog and Toad Are Friends (I Can Read Book 2)
Amazon Price: $3.99 (as of 12/02/2009) 
Days with Frog and Toad
Amazon Price: $3.99 (as of 12/02/2009)
Frog and Toad All Year (I Can Read Book 2)
Amazon Price: $3.99 (as of 12/02/2009)
The Frog and Toad Collection Box Set (I Can Read Book 2)
Amazon Price: $8.63 (as of 12/02/2009)
The Frog and Toad Treasury
Amazon Price: (as of 12/02/2009)
Which Came First, the Frog or the Egg?
Hmmm...
For our purposes, we'll start with the egg.Large clusters of frog eggs are laid in water or wet areas. The larger the cluster, the less likely the eggs are to be eaten by other animals. Sometimes a cluster has several thousand eggs in it.
Each egg starts out as a single cell surrounded by a jelly-like shell or covering. This cell splits in two, the two into four, the four into eight and so on until there is a mass of cells that form an embryo.
Each embryo begins to form gills and organs. It has an internal yolk that provides it with the nutrients it needs to grow and develop. This process usually takes about 3 weeks.
Once the little embryos are fully developed, they break free of the jelly shell and attach themselves to a plant in the water.
And a tadpole is born!
Tadpoles
More fish than frog?
The vast majority of frog eggs never hatch into tadpoles. Most eggs are eaten by fish, snakes, insects or even other tadpoles. The lucky ones that do hatch are little more than a mouth, gills and tail.Tadpoles are filter feeders, meaning that they strain their food, usually algae, from the water to eat. The extra water is pushed out through the gills. They continue eating and growing for about 4 weeks. Then small teeth start to grow and the gills are covered with skin and the lungs begin to grow. Tadpoles are now eating insects and worms. They also have to do their best not to get eaten by something else. After another few weeks the back legs start to grow and soon after that the front legs start to grow. Now it is part tadpole and part frog. It is called a froglet.
Froglets
Part frog, part tadpole
The froglet's head and body begin to grow bigger and the tail starts to grow smaller. The legs are used more and more for swimming and get stronger. It has lungs now and swims to the surface to get air. Its body keeps getting bigger and its tail smaller until at about 3 months of age its tail is gone and a frog is ready to leave the water and live on land. Finally a Frog
I'm free at last
Still pretty small, the frog will continue growing for the next three years or so until it a fully grown adult frog. At this point it is usually 10 times bigger than when it first came out of the water. It is then ready to repeat the cycle by finding a mate and laying eggs.Male frogs call to attract females. The male then clasps his arms around the female's stomach in a tight grip called amplexus. The female then lays the eggs and the male fertilizes them externally. Only about 5% of the eggs laid will make it to adulthood.
Turn Your Bathroom into a Frog Pond
Bathroom - Water - Frogs... It's a logical progression. Now you can turn your bathroom into a frog pond and show everyone else just how much you love frogs. And without any dirt and algae!
Frog Bath Rug
Done in the tub? These friendly little fellows are more...0 points
Frog Lotion Pump
Your little squirts will love using this Frog loti more...0 points
Frog Shower Curtain Hooks
Youll never know what kind of pond personalities y more...0 points
Frog Tissue Box Cover
Be kind to your web footed friends, theyre taking more...0 points
Frog Toothbrush Holder
When its time to brush their teeth, kids will hop more...0 points
FROG bath TUB PILLOW neck roll kids bathroom Home Decor
Sometimes a frog in your bathtub is a good thing.. more...0 points
Frog Waste Paper Basket
When you find bits of paper and junk floating arou more...0 points
Frog Ceramic Tumbler
Not that we expect you to swallow this, but these more...0 points
Frog Night Light
We can all use a little brightness in our lives, a more...0 points
Froggy Funnies
You know what they say... Laughter is the Best Medicine
What should you say to a one year old frog?"Hoppy Birthday"
How do frogs play ping-pong?
With a lily paddle
Why are frogs always smiling?
Because they're hoppy!
What should you do if your frog breaks down?
Call a toad truck
What do you get when you stack frogs on top of each other?
A toadem pole
How fast can a frog stick out his tongue?
In the twinkling of a fly.
What do you get when you cross a frog with a pig?
A warthog.
What's the nicest thing you can say to a frog?
Go jump in a lake.
What do frogs grow in their garden?
Croakcuses and Tuleaps.
Let a Frog Light Up Your Life
Lamps for the Frog Friendly
And let there be light... with frogs on it! These frog lights, lamps and nightlights are sure to bring a little joy, and light, to your life.
Solar Frog Light (Set of 2 Pcs. One Sytle Each)
Solar Frog Light (Set of 2 Pcs. One Sytle Each) So more...0 points
Tree Frog Fun Party String Lights (SJ)
Frogs have great detail! Use indoors or out, in th more...0 points
Quoizel Tiffany 1 Light Lounging Frog Accent Lamp
TF6033VB - Quoizel Tiffany Accent<b>Finish: more...0 points
Green Frog Eva Lamp
This is for the Green Frog Eva Lamp. This type of more...0 points
Creative Motion 10633-2 Frog Night light
These are economical nightlights made of durable l more...0 points
Frog 2 in 1 Table Lamp- Lamp & LED Night Light / 5638-1
It's a frog lamp & also a changing color LED n more...0 points
Frog Family Table Lamp LP07199
This frog family table lamp measures 14-1/2" more...0 points
Frog Night Light
We can all use a little brightness in our lives, a more...0 points
#16401 - Tiffany Frog Accent Lamp by Meyda Tiffany
This Adorable Lighted Frog Accent Lamp Is Created more...0 points
Froggy Places
In the US alone there are more than 400 different geographical locations that have "frog" in the name.They incude:
77 creeks and streams
75 lakes
41 valleys
17 springs
15 summits
8 swamps
7 flats
6 islands
6 ridges
3 basins
3 bays
3 canyons
3 parks
2 capes
1 bar
1 cliff
and 1 range
A Frog By Any Other Name...
The language of frogs A-C
Its "frog" in English, but how about all those other languages.Abenaki - cegwal
Afrikaans - padda
Albanian - zhabe
Amharic - anquratit
Anishinaabe - omakakii(g)
Arabic - dufdaea
Arapahoe - maw xah baa hk
Atakapa - akitoc, anenui
Ayapathu - thata
Azerbaijani - qurbaga
Bambara - ntori
Basque - igel
Bemba - cula
Bengali - byang
Biloxi - kto, peska, temu
Blackfoot - matsekepisau
Byelorussian - zhaba
Catalan - granota
Chechen - phid
Cherokee - walosi
Chinese - wa chingwa
Chinook - shwahkuk
Choctaw - shukatti
Chumash - wakatsom
Comanche - pasaviyio
Croatian - zaba
Czechoslavakian - zaba
A Froggy Kind of Order
Scientific classification of frogs and toads
All plant and animal species are classified in a scientific manner which is called, of all things, scientific classification or scientific taxonomy. Objects are placed in groups according to general similarities and then continually separated into more distinct groups until there is only one individual, or species remaining.The standard classification system for living organisms is separated as follows: Life, Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species.
There are three domains: Eucarya (complex cellular life), Procarya (simple cellular life) and Acytota (non-cellular life). Eucarya is then further separated into four kingdoms: Animalia, Plantae, Protista and Fungi. Animalia is then further separated into phylum and so on.
All frogs and toads begin their taxonomic classification as such: Life, Eucarya, Animalia, Chordata (vertabrates), Amphibia, Anura. From there it starts to break down with different species belonging in different families.
Amphibia - This word comes from the Greek word "amphibian," defined as double life, part spent on land and part in the water. The class Amphibia includes two orders, Caudata (salamanders and newts) and Anura (frogs and toads).
Anura - All frogs and toads are classified as members of this order. The name comes from the Greek, and means "without tail."
Ranidae - The family for typical or "true" frogs. The word is a form of "rana," which is the latin name for frog.
Bufonidae - This is the family group for toads. The word comes from the Latin word "bufonis" which means toad.
Hylidae - This family group includes all treefrogs, cricket frogs, chorus ffrogs, and tropical frogs. THe word comes from the Greek word "hyla," which means woods or forest.
These are the three most common families for frogs and toads to belong to, but there are an additional 18 families. All together the 21 families hold 310 genera which in turn hold 3445 different species of frogs and toads.
Of course, this is pretty general in nature. It can get a lot more complicated with sub-groups and whatnot. And to further confuse, new discoveries are frequently shaking things up.
Please Leave Feedback
I would love to hear from you!
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- the_power_of_j the_power_of_j Feb 12, 2009 @ 8:38 pm
- great lens! i have a lens about frog collectibles www.squidoo.com/collectfrogs
i have added you to my lensroll, please check it out.
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- Gitta Gitta Dec 16, 2008 @ 6:19 am
- in swedish it's "groda" ;-)
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- christina christina Apr 1, 2008 @ 5:52 pm
- Looking for an overhead light for bedroom that is either a lily pad or frog. christina.g.holt@comcasst.net
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- Evelyn_Saenz Evelyn_Saenz Sep 23, 2007 @ 3:20 pm
- Great lens. 5 stars. I love listening to the frogs too! Glad you've got them back. Check out my site at
www.squidoo.com/FrogUnitStudy and join my group at:
http://www.squidoo.com/groups/unitstudies
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- SMurphy SMurphy Aug 16, 2007 @ 11:15 pm
- Great lens. I have created a group for all froggy lenses on squidoo. I hope you'll join. It's at http://www.squidoo.com/groups/frogs
- Load More
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by nadiazr
There should be more frogs in the world! Not only do they eat bugs, but they're just too cute!
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