World Frog Day – 20th March
World Frog Day – 20th March
March 20th is World Frog Day, which was created in 2009 to increase awareness of the plight of threatened frog species around the world. All amphibians, including frogs, are important components of the global ecosystem, as indicators of environmental health and contributors to human health.
Frogs,are really very interesting little critters, and they fill a very important and specific niche in the natural world. A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura. An adult frog has a stout body, protruding eyes, anteriorly-attached tongue, limbs folded underneath, and no tail.There are at least 6000 known species of frog, ranging from the tiny Gold Frog, which is less than a half-inch long, to the giant Goliath Frog, which can be over a foot long.Although many frogs have poisonous skin glands, these toxins do not usually provide protection from predatory mammals, birds, and snakes. Edible anurans rely on camouflage; some blend with their backgrounds, while others change colours.
Frogs are in many different colors, ranging from bright red to yellow to dark blue. Many tropical frogs also sport pretty patterns. A few can even change their colors. African frogs for instance, turn white when it is really hot out, as this helps them stay cool. Several species have bright colours on their underparts that flash when the frog moves, possibly confusing enemies or serving as a warning of the frog’s toxicity.
Most frogs eat insects, other small arthropods, or worms, but a number of them also eat other frogs, rodents, and reptiles.Tadpoles will eat greens including lettuce (not cos or iceberg), broccoli, or baby spinach.
frogs are one of the most adaptable species on the planet. They can live in all sorts of environments, from deserts to rain forests, and even above the Arctic circle!When sets in winter, they Hibernate. Some shelter in trees, while others hunker down beneath leaves or debris, or on the bottoms of lakes or ponds. The sounds of ‘peepers’ are a traditional sign of spring in many areas.Frogs typically lay their eggs in water. The eggs hatch into aquatic larvae called tadpoles that have tails and internal gills. They have highly specialized rasping mouth parts suitable for herbivorous, omnivorous or planktivorous diets. The life cycle is completed when they metamorphose into adults. A few species deposit eggs on land or bypass the tadpole stage.
– Source: Internet –