Frog skin is amazing! Find out why

1. The skin protects the animal against abrasion and infection from environmental pathogens.
2. Permits the exchange of respiratory gases (oxygen and carbon dioxide).
3. Permits absorption and secretion of electrolyte ions, thereby serving as an adjunct to the kidneys in maintaining correct electrolyte balance.
4. Permits absorption and release of water, thereby serving as an adjunct to the kidneys in maintaining correct water balance or hydrostasis.
5. Permits temperature regulation by lightening (reflecting heat) or darkening (absorbing heat) in some species.
6. Permits the animal to camouflage itself against its background in many species.
7. Brightly colored skins serve to warn potential predators of defensive noxious ore even fatal glandular skin secretions in a number of species.
8. Serves sensory functions: chemoreception, mechanoreception or tactile sensibility; and electrodetection in some fully aquatic species that retain lateral line organs in their skin.
9. Protects against cutaneous external and internal wound infection through the secretion of peptide antibiotics in some species
10. Liberates alarm substances in members of a population when one or more is attacked, thus alerting others to the presence of danger. Other odors associated with larval frogs are said to allow them to recognize their siblings as well as their birthplace.
11. Presence of coloration is designed to permit sexual recognition in some species.
12. Skin distensibility or elasticity permits prodigious feats of jumping, leaping, and even “flying” and landing without injury, often from substantial heights.

Posted in Frog Anatomy

Frogs are predators. A handful of species have been recorded eating plant material, including small fruits, but these are very much the exception. Ninety nine percent of adult frogs eat other animals. To be prey for a frog, the animal must be of a size that can be overpowered by the frog’s mouth alone. The front legs of the frog are not powerful and do not have claws. Their feet are of no use in capturing prey or in tearing it into bite size pieces. The absence of these supporting weapons thus places a lot of responsibility of the frog mouth. A frog must capture prey using only its mouth; the whole prey must fit inside of its mouth, and the frog must be able to swallow the sometimes large and actively struggling animal with its mouth alone. And what a mouth it is.

The great gape of most frog mouths enables them to take on surprisingly large prey and provides a base for their specialized long range weapon, the tongue. “Long-Range”, of course, is a relative term, and no frog’s tongue is comparable in length to a chameleon’s for example. The frogs tongue at rest folds on the floor of the mouth. It is normally attached to the front of the lower jaw rather than at the back, as in people and many other animals. This attachment gives the frog maximum range for launching the tongue to catch insects. As the tongue lies folded in the mouth, the sticky portion at the tip of the tongue faces up. When its prey is within range, the frog opens its mouth and flips its tongue at the target. The prey is stuck to the tongue, which is quickly flipped back into the mouth. The action is very fast, sometimes a matter of milliseconds, and a human observer might not even realize that the tongue was involved. Once inside the jaws, the prey is swallowed as quickly as possible, sometimes aided by contractions of the eye muscles, which help push the prey down the throat.

Most frogs employ one of two basic hunting strategies. The most common strategy is the sit and wait technique. This technique is straightforward; choose a site frequented by prey species, count on your coloration and immobility for camouflage, and ambush anything that passes close enough. If the prey is near but not close enough, the frog may slowly lean forward or take a cautious step or two close to the range.

Some frogs have appended refinements on to the sit and wait method. The horned frogs of the New World tropics use their toes as lures to draw prey close to their camouflaged mouths. Ornate horned frogs have bright yellow toes on their hind feet, which they lift above their hindquarters. From frog eye level and in front, the yellow toes may be mistaken for a small flower, fruit, or insect resting above a nondescript piece of the rainforest floor.

Frogs eat almost anything that fits into their mouth. For most frogs “anything” means insects and other invertebrates. Frogs generally locate their prey by sight, but some species clearly posses a sense of smell. There is also a species of frog that does not even posses a tongue, as weird as that is, the aquatic pipids have no tongues and basically suck in food. As a final footnote to the unique aspect of hunting, I must mention the story of fang. Fang was a gray tree frog, and was a pet of mine. When I would arrive with a container of moths, Fang would immediately become agitated and start scrambling along the branches in his terrarium. I would normally, remove the lid deposit the moths, and let the games begin. Fang would stalk the moths. I realized that he felt the same way about moths that I felt about pizza. He could simply not stop eating them no matter how his stomach was distended and sagging from the presence of three or four large moths. It was pathetic yet amusing to watch him try and haul himself within range of yet another moth, sometimes with a moth wing still protruding from his mouth. I was greatly impressed by his commitment.

Posted in Characteristics and Behavior

Who are these predators? It seams as if just about everybody. Frog eggs, tadpoles, and aquatic adults are favorite meals for fish around the world. Predatory aquatic insects prey heavily on the tadpoles. Frogs that live near or in the water are often hunted by wading birds, such as herons, by a host of snake species, by many small to medium sized mammals, such as raccoons, opossums, and skunks, and by other, larger frogs.

In the tropics, additional dangers come from unexpected sources; there are bats that specialize in hunting frogs, which they locate by the call. Tropical frogs may be caught in webs and eaten by spiders. One tropical hawk extracts frogs from their hiding spots in the leaves.

Frogs have a variety of techniques to make it through the day and night. Firstly, they avoid detection. Many frogs have cryptic coloration that makes it difficult for others to see them. The north American Gray tree frog has a mottled gray pattern that quite strikingly matches the lichen encrusted branches and tree trunks that are its usual home. Aquatic frogs are usually green or brown to mimic the dominate colors of water and plants. A few species even have bony protruding structures that disrupt their smooth outline and make it difficult to detect them as frogs rather than pieces of earth or plant.

Detection alone does not mean capture. If a predator succeeds in locating the frog, it still has to catch it. The frog has two choices; it may run away or stand its ground. Species that run away have powerful legs. Some make a single leap into nearby water. Others make a series of jumps and then freeze. This tricks the predator, the predator will often continue scanning for the next jumps.

Tree frogs usually have a pattern of bright coloration on a portion of their thighs that is not visible when they are at rest. So when they leap the color is visible, but when they land and assume rest position, they are concealed. This confuses the predator, as he will often search the spot where the color was seen. Some frogs, are poisonous, and warn the predators of this by their bright coloration. Some frogs are also aggressive, and will bite.

Posted in Characteristics and Behavior

The tree frogs are a huge family of nearly 700 species in 40 or so living genera. Various genera are constantly being reclassified as members of the family, or are moved out of the group – it is difficult to say with certainty what the precise numbers are at any point in time. In recent years, newly discovered frog species have frequently been deemed members of the hylid family. Their arboreal nature and presence high within the canopy of many tropical and subtropical forests is probably responsible for the constant spate of new discoveries.

Tree frogs are unique in having somewhat disc-shaped pads on their toes, which are composed of interlocking columnar cells that act very much as Velcro does, enabling them to stick to rough surfaces upside down and sideways or to dangle by a single limb from a branch high above the ground like a circus acrobat. On smooth surfaces, mucus-producing cells produce a sticky substance that acts as an adhesive, also enabling them to walk on walls, even when the walls are as smooth as glass.

Although the majority of hylids lay aquatic eggs and have a free living tadpole stage, a number of genera have specialized life histories. Notable among these are frogs of the genus Gastrotheca or the marsupial frogs, which are found in the Andean region of South America, in Ecuador and Colombia on the Pacific coast and from Venezuela to eastern Brazil and northern Argentina on the Atlantic sides, as well as in Panama. The females of these frogs have dorso-lateral pouches into which they push their eggs following fertilization. Here they develop into either tadpoles or fully formed froglets (depending on the species). When they are ready to emerge, the female uses the toes of her rear limbs to stretch open the slits of her pouch to allow them to escape. If she is carrying tadpoles, she releases them into the water. Species where the larvae develop inside the pouch are released either in shallow water or on land.

The gorgeous poster frog of the save the rainforest movement, the Red Eyed Leaf Frog or Tree Frog, is a member of this family. The tree frogs are widely distributed throughout North, Central and South America, Europe ( but not the British Isles) in a narrow corridor eastward through the former USSR into China and Japan, on the Island of Papua New Guinea and through a large area of Australia, as well as on many islands in the Caribbean and elsewhere. They are absent from Africa, India, and Southeast Asia.

Posted in Characteristics and Behavior

Frogs, not so much that of Kermit, although he is amazing, are fascinating creatures. They are simple and beautiful creatures that touch many people, especially children. Much of this is due to the fact that frogs are small and easy to observe. They are also relatively easy for a child to catch. They have real and expressive faces that inspire curiosity in many children.

Oftentimes, a child will catch a frog and delight in the fact that he/she is holding it. The youngster will often stare at the frog in hand and smile, open mouthed and wide eyed. As if waiting for the frog to make a gesture back.

Many frogs, also have their own song, the males that is, have voices. Many of these sounds are also musically pleasing to the human ear. Most of them call at night, and as for the tailless amphibians that make the calls, they are as distinctive to them as they are to us, only more important. The sounds not only identify species, but also draw females to the breeding sites.

Oftentimes, people choose to keep frogs as pets, because they are interesting to watch and relatively easy to keep. They do not require much time, just a few necessities. Therefore, they make a great pet for children. Among frogs, the red eyed tree frog is a beautiful specimen. It has become increasingly popular, pet wise, and photograph wise. In fact, it is probably one of the most photographed frogs out there, and it is clear why.

Lucky for you, you shall learn about the red eyed tree frog, as well as many other tree frogs. For, this website concentrates specifically on the wide assortment of tree frogs around the world. Tree frogs are known for being gentle, alert, delicate, and entertaining. They are unique, colorful, and amazing! They are among the favorites of the frog world. And that most certainly applies to the pet industry.

There are a wide variety of tree frogs, so many, too many to mention in fact. Yet this is not a bad thing, and certainly it makes for an interesting discussion, so without further a due, let us move on to everything that is Tree Frog!

Posted in introduction