Portal:Frogs

The Frogs Portal

Red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas)

A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek ἀνούρα, literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough skin texture due to wart-like parotoid glands tend to be called toads, but the distinction between frogs and toads is informal and purely cosmetic, not from taxonomy or evolutionary history.

Frogs are widely distributed, ranging from the tropics to subarctic regions, but the greatest concentration of species diversity is in tropical rainforest and associated wetlands. They account for around 88% of extant amphibian species, and are one of the five most diverse vertebrate orders. The oldest fossil "proto-frog" Triadobatrachus is known from the Early Triassic of Madagascar (250 million years ago), but molecular clock dating suggests their divergence from other amphibians may extend further back to the Permian, 265 million years ago.

Adult frogs have a stout body, protruding eyes, anteriorly-attached tongue, limbs folded underneath, and no tail (the "tail" of tailed frogs is an extension of the male cloaca). Frogs have glandular skin, with secretions ranging from distasteful to toxic. Their skin varies in colour from well-camouflaged dappled brown, grey and green, to vivid patterns of bright red or yellow and black to show toxicity and ward off predators. Adult frogs live in both fresh water and on dry land; some species are adapted for living underground or in trees. As their skin is semi-permeable, making them susceptible to dehydration, they either live in moist niches or have special adaptations to deal with drier habitats. Frogs produce a wide range of vocalisations, particularly in their breeding season, and exhibit many different kinds of complex behaviors to attract mates, to fend off predators and to generally survive. (Full article...)

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Leptodactylus fallax, commonly known as the mountain chicken or giant ditch frog, is a critically endangered species of frog that is native to the Caribbean islands of Dominica and Montserrat. The population declined by at least 80% from 1995 to 2004, with further significant declines later. A tiny wild population remains on Dominica where there are efforts to preserve it, but few or none survive in the wild on Montserrat and its survival now relies on a captive breeding project involving several zoos. The initial decline was linked to hunting for human consumption, along with habitat loss and natural disasters, but the most serious threat now appears to be the fungal disease chytridiomycosis, which was the primary cause of the most recent rapid decline. On Montserrat it is known as the mountain chicken, while on Dominica it is known as the crapaud, which is simply means "toad" in French. (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various frog-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Moche frog, 200 AD (from Frogs in culture)
Image 2Early Dynastic (c. 3000 BC) frog statuette) (from Frogs in culture)
Image 3Freddo Frog advertisement, 1930 (from Frogs in culture)
Image 4Hermenegildo Bustos, Still life with fruit, 1874 (from Frogs in culture)
Image 5Gray tree frog, Hyla versicolor, Hylidae, eastern North America (from Tree frog)
Image 6Eungella torrent frog
Taudactylus eungellensis
Myobatrachidae
Australia (from Torrent frog)
Image 7Vietnamese folk painting "Lão oa giảng độc" (from Toad)
Image 8Wrestling frogs from Chōjū-jinbutsu-giga, cartoon, Japan, 12th century (from Frogs in culture)
Image 9Old Dutch tile from Friesland (from Frogs in culture)
Image 10Entre ciel et terre, by Gustave Doré, 1862 (from Frogs in culture)
Image 11A frog being eaten by King Stork, an illustration by Milo Winter in a 1919 Aesop anthology (from Frogs in culture)
Image 12Wallace's flying frog (Rhacophorus nigropalmatus) (from Flying frog)
Image 13Vietnamese folk painting "Nhân nghĩa" (from Toad)
Image 14Black torrent frog
Micrixalus saxicola
Ranidae
India (from Torrent frog)
Image 15Red-eyed treefrog, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica (from Tree frog)
Image 16Common toad, female and male on her back. (from True toad)
Image 17American toad (Anaxyrus americanus) (from True toad)
Image 18White-lipped bright-eyed frog, Boophis albilabris, Mantellidae, Madagascar (from Tree frog)
Image 19Powdered glass frog, Cochranella pulverata, Centrolenidae, Honduras to Ecuador (from Tree frog)
Image 20Torrent treefrog
Litoria nannotis
Hylidae
Australia (from Torrent frog)
Image 21Ascaphus montanus tadpole (supine position), showing the large oral sucker (from Tailed frog)
Image 22Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee 2016 (from Frog jumping contest)
Image 23Crapaud et Grenouille ("Frog and Toad") by Jean Carriès, between 1889 and 1894 (from Frogs in culture)
Image 24Frog pictured in the coat of arms of Baloži (from Frogs in culture)
Image 25Dead Frog with Flies by Ambrosius Bosschaert II, c. 1630 (from Frogs in culture)
Image 26Frog and Mouse by Getsuju, a Japanese artist of the Edo period (from Frogs in culture)
Image 27Gladiator treefrog (Hypsiboas rosenbergi), Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica (from Tree frog)
Image 28"My Old Friend Dr. Frog". Promotional postcard for "Frog In Your Throat" Company throat medicine (from Frogs in culture)
Image 29A limestone carving of a frog was found at Tell es-Sakan, an Egyptian settlement in Palestine. The frog dates to the last third of the 4th millennium BCE. (from Frogs in culture)
Image 30Common tree frog, Polypedates leucomystax, Rhacophoridae, southern to eastern Asia (from Tree frog)
Image 31Detail of Josiah Wedgwood's Frog Service, 1773–4, made for Catherine the Great of Russia (from Frogs in culture)
Image 32Roman lamp mount shaped like a frog. (from Frogs in culture)
Image 33European treefrog (Hyla arborea) (from Tree frog)
Image 34American green tree frog, Dryophytes cinereus or Hyla cinerea, Hylidae, central and southeastern United States (from Tree frog)
Image 35Big-eyed tree frog, Leptopelis vermiculatus, Hyperoliidae, Tanzania (from Tree frog)
Image 36Malabar tree toad, Pedostibes tuberculosus, Hyperoliidae, India (from Tree frog)

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Did you know?

...that both species of Corroboree frog are critically endangered?
... that the frog Paedophryne swiftorum (pictured) was discovered by a student on a 2008 Cornell University expedition to Papua New Guinea?
... that dancing frogs, found in the Western Ghats in India, wave their hindlegs while calling to attract mates?
...that the Wrinkled Toadlet (pictured) is also commonly known as the Chubby Gungan?
... that the call made by Limnodynastes dorsalis, a frog species in Western Australia, is similar to the sound of a plucked banjo string?