Toad - description, species, where they live, what they eat, photo. Common frog (lat. Rana temporaria) The frog lives

The grass frog is a representative of the order of "tailless" amphibians belonging to the family of "true frogs".

As you know, in all these wonderful animals, for example, as in: - there are several stages of development.

Starting with eggs and ending with an adult, a little later we will definitely consider all three stages in more detail.

You must remember that the population of all species of these animals is steadily declining every year, there are several reasons for this phenomenon. At the end of the article, we will describe each of them in detail.

The body length of an adult amphibian does not exceed 10 cm, however, with rare exceptions, individuals of large sizes are found. The female is larger than the male.

Body color is different, the traditional color of her skin is olive with black spots on the back and sides no more than 1-3 mm in diameter. Each animal has an identification marble pattern on its belly.

According to the observations of zoologists during the mating season in males of this species, the throat changes color to blue, moreover, it completely changes its body color to light gray, and the female becomes reddish brown.

This type of frog is distributed throughout almost the entire European continent, including northern Scandinavia and eastern Siberia.

She tries to settle in places that are saturated with reservoirs, rivers, lakes and ponds. But this does not mean that she spends her whole life in the water, everything is just the opposite, she returns to the water only for reproduction, the rest of the time she spends on land.

Adult frogs are solitary by nature, found in groups only on water bodies during the mating season. In the summer season, they can often be found in places such as:

• river banks;
• green meadows;
• forests;
• swamps;

They are also regular guests in the territories of domestic lands, gardens, flower beds, front gardens and vegetable gardens with abundant herbal vegetation.

IN summer time they are active at night, and during the day they hide in dense and tall vegetation, however, they can do the opposite, get out of hiding and bask in the sun.

In the period from the beginning of March until the end of May, you can watch them travel to the water. Males will help us with this, they sing mating serenades to their lovers.

From November to February, she tries to find a moist and safe place, usually these places are composts, or even hide under water.

Note! The pose in which she hibernates causes, at least for us, a benevolent smile. She draws her hind limbs to her stomach, and closes her head with her front ones.

The grass frog and its closest relatives have to survive in the harsh conditions of the wild, as numerous predatory animals are ready to encroach on their lives. Let's get a little specific and give some examples of these terrible enemies:

• Owls;

This is only a small part of the above list, in fact it is three times larger. Soft skin and lack chemical protection makes her easy prey for voracious and cunning opponents.

Caviar, tadpoles and small frogs are hunted by fish and many aquatic insects.

Nutrition

Adult amphibians feed on a wide variety of daily menu includes insects such as:

• snails;
• beetles;
• Crustaceans;
• Worms;
• Slugs;
• flies;
• mosquitoes;

to completion autumn season frogs absorb as much food as possible before they lie down in hibernation. Also, do not disregard insects that, through negligence, landed in the water and drowned. Little frogs feed on algae, plankton and small drowned insects.

Hunting

This type of frog has a very good eyesight, with the help of which it can observe a potential victim for a long time. She catches the lion's share of her diet on land, of which 18 percent are flying insects.

It is important

Scientists say that the intensity of nutrition directly depends on seasonality..

At the beginning of this article, we promised to describe in detail all three stages of their development, but let's do it in order. We already know that this species of frog lives away from the aquatic environment, but after three years of age, it is ready to mate. This fact will inevitably lead her to a reservoir in order to give life to a new generation.

Males, while moving to water bodies, sing mating songs for their future chosen ones, and mating calluses form on their forelimbs, with the help of which they firmly hold the female during approach.

The male climbs onto the female and firmly holds the chosen one with his paws, in this position they can stay until the female lays eggs, and the male fertilizes her. After the wedding procession, they again disperse to their habitable places.

Development

Many people know that in order to reach the frog before adult, she needs to go through several stages before she can get out of the water.

- 1 stage

After the female lays a ball of eggs, it can contain from 654 to 1567 eggs, and the male fertilizes them, several days pass and tadpoles begin to grow in them. Their silhouette can be seen through transparent walls each individual egg.

- Stage 2

After 10 - 12 days, the tadpoles peck through the thin walls of the eggs and enter the aquatic environment, breathing under water with the formed gills.

Another 13 - 15 days will pass and their front and hind legs begin to grow, the tail disappears. Their gills turn into lungs and they can get out of the water for further development. Their sizes do not exceed three centimeters.

- 3 stage

After the above stages, it turns into an adult formed individual. Total time development from a tadpole to a small frog will take from 50 to 90 days. The development of tadpoles is strongly influenced by water temperature.

At the beginning of this story, we casually mentioned that the population of this species is declining every year, and promised to analyze in detail the main causes of this disease.

The first and probably the main reason is pollution. environment pesticides and all kinds of chemical regents.

The reason for this is the production zones, which squeeze out all life from the territories inhabited by these animals for a long time. It is worth mentioning the fact that every year several thousand amphibians are used by scientists as experimental animals..

The second reason that affects the abundance of this taxon is the fact that in some countries, for example: in France, this species is commercial and is regularly exterminated as a favorite delicacy for local residents and tourists.

IN wild nature the grass frog can live no more than 7 years, in captivity lives up to 9 years.

frogs- family tailless amphibians, a contemporary of both man and dinosaur. frog imprinted in itself the longest experience of the struggle for existence in the history of life on land. This led to the universality of her anatomy and physiology, providing a unique adaptation to life in the border zone. Like millions of years ago, a frog begins its life in the water. A tadpole develops from an egg laid in water. So far, it differs little from fish fry. But then a series of transformations begins, consisting of about thirty transitional stages, which helps the frog to adapt to life on land, and the tadpole turns from a "fish" into a land animal (metamorphosis).

Very interesting question: What helps a frog adapt to life on land?

And it helps the frog to adapt to life on land, all those adaptations that appeared during the transformation of the tadpole into a frog. First, the tadpole has its hind legs, and then the front legs. The lungs begin to develop. After a while, it rises to the surface of the water and swallows air, the tail gradually shortens. The tadpole becomes an amphibian, after which it comes ashore. And lives on land, adapting as it should.

From now on, the frog will live on land, more precisely, on the border of land and water. Constant connection with aquatic environment imposes on the biology of frogs whole line characteristic features. The tadpole breathed through gills, A adult frog breathes through the mouth, lungs and skin. Such a large set of respiratory organs is characteristic only of amphibians. While the frog is in the water, it breathes through the skin, and when it is on land, it breathes through the mouth and lungs. Universal and circulatory system. Two parts of the heart work in water, and mixed blood flows through the body. On land, the left atrium is connected to the work, and the blood that is already purely arterial, saturated with oxygen, enters the brain. Thus, with each dive, the frog's respiratory organs are instantly turned off.

While the frog is on the ground It's easy to catch her. And you can't catch it in the water. The hind limbs are long, consist of ten bones - levers. And the forelimbs are a superbly “thought-out” device for “ soft landing". The skin of frogs is naked and covered with mucus, and therefore their activity depends on humidity and air temperature. It hunts at dusk, as the coolness increases. In cold and dry weather, frogs hide in shelters.

When it's winter time, frog sinks to the bottom.

The color of the body is affected not only by temperature, but also by the background color, and illumination, and humidity. Frogs perceive changes in these factors directly with their skin.

One of the most original adaptations to living conditions in the border zone between land and water is frog hearing aid. It turns out that she perceives sound signals through three channels. In the air, sound waves are picked up by the cells of the inner ear, through the eardrum and ear bone. Sounds propagating through the soil are perceived by the bones and muscles of the limbs and transmitted through the bones of the skull to the inner ear.

Frog looks at the world impassively with two large round eyes. They may not be very expressive, but what is unique is undeniable. When studying frog eyes it turned out that the retina analyzes information using special cells. They were called detectors - "detecting". Each type of detector reacts only to strictly defined properties of objects, such as the movement of a stimulus in a certain direction. Each type of stimulus is transmitted along its own optic nerve fiber to a certain layer of the brain. In the brain, the received information is processed, and the animal perceives the object as a whole.

frogs unpretentious and illegible in food, they can starve for a day or a week. They eat butterflies, bees, wasps, and other moving insects. eats fish fry.

For many decades, physiologists have used frogs in a variety of experiments. Observations and experiments with them made it possible to make so many important discoveries that they even erected in Paris and Tokyo frog monuments.

Tree frogs, or tree frogs

A small and very graceful frog; found in Ukraine and the Caucasus, lives on trees and shrubs. She can hold on tightly to the foliage and move along it due to the fact that her fingers are equipped with suction pads at the ends. The color of the tree frog is excellently adapted to the environment in which it lives: it is usually grassy green - the same color as the foliage, but in a different environment, the color can change to brown or grayish. Male tree frogs scream very loudly, inflating the resonator. For spawning, tree frogs descend into water bodies, but remain there for a very short time and soon return to the trees again.

Surinam frog

bright coloring surinamese frog warns predators that an attempt to feast on it will end in death. The Indians of the Amazon Basin smear frog poison, one of the deadliest, on arrowheads. The poison strikes nervous system and causes blood clotting.

goliath frog

They live in waterfalls of fast and full-flowing rivers. They need a lot of moisture, so frogs avoid places with strong sun exposure. Water should be abundantly saturated with oxygen, do not contain tannic acid and be no warmer than 23 degrees and no colder than 16-17 degrees. These giant frogs live secretly, spending most of the day in the water or among the rocks, which are very difficult to reach. Catching a goliath is extremely difficult, it requires great dexterity and skill. Locals catch them with a net with small cells. The net is thrown from afar so that the frog does not see it.

align="justify"> Externally goliath looks like a common frog. Its wrinkled skin is greenish-brown on its back, its belly and inner side paws - yellowish and whitish. Eye diameter can reach 3.3 centimeters, the ear is small, without a shell. These frogs do not make any sound. Some researchers evaluate maximum weight of goliaths six kilograms, and the length, if the hind legs are extended, is 60 centimeters. True, these figures are somewhat overestimated, but there is no doubt that the goliath is the largest frog in existence. There is no noticeable difference between male and female, although the latter is slightly larger.

Photo frog Goliath

For a long time, the development of goliaths remained unknown, scientists searched in vain for their tadpoles. But somehow a female in one of the terrariums laid her eggs. They were five to six millimeters in diameter. Now scientists knew what the caviar of these frogs looked like, and began to look for it wherever the goliaths lived. With great difficulty, it was possible to find the caviar, which was attached to the bush of the plant.

female goliath starts laying eggs in the dry season. For 5-6 days, she lays more than 10 thousand eggs. Development from egg to frog lasts approximately 70 days. The tadpole is at first 8 millimeters long, but at the age of 45 days it reaches maximum size- 4.8 centimeters. After that, the tail falls off.

Studies of the stomach contents of goliaths have shown that they feed mainly on insects, but do not disdain crayfish, mollusks, amphibian insects and spiders. Even the remains of small rodents were found in their stomachs.

At first, the main enemies of frogs are birds and, possibly, some fish. Later, goliaths become prey for crocodiles.

The locals of Cameroon and Rio Muni, where these frogs live, consider their meat to be excellent. It is white and tender, and the front paws are a special delicacy...

So far, you can be sure of the safety of these representatives of the animal world. Catching goliaths is very difficult, and they live in places almost inaccessible to humans. But since it concerns a species that can hardly adapt to other conditions of life, everything must be done to preserve goliath frogs.

Frog Goliath - video

There are over 4,800 different types of frogs that can be found throughout the world. different environment The habitat these frogs live in has given rise to the strange looking species that we can find today. This list features ten of the most interesting and unusual frogs known to science today.

10 Brazilian Horned Frog

This amazing frog lives in tropical forests Amazons in South America. The Brazilian slingshot, Ceratophrys aurita, has distinctive appearance compared to other amphibians. Evolution has done a good job of camouflaging this creature, making it look like a leaf so that the frog can blend in with the surroundings.

The frog can grow up to large sizes, and reach twenty centimeters in length. She buries herself in the leaves so that only her head is visible, and when someone from her menu walks by, she quickly grabs and eats them. This is a very aggressive animal and locals often wear high leather boots to protect their feet from powerful bites. Despite their aggressive nature, some people keep these frogs as pets.

9 Helen's Flying Frog


This newly discovered frog was first recorded in January of this year, so there is almost no information about it. However, this frog is known to be able to fly using its huge webbed feet. The frog glides across the forest canopy South Vietnam hiding from predators. Females have patches of skin on their paws that look like a kind of wings that help them in flight. Their large paws help them attach themselves to tree branches after their flight is over. Helena's flying frog - Rhacophorus helenae is quite large in size, sometimes reaching ten centimeters in length.

It was discovered by an Australian scientist in Vietnam, near Saigon. The scientist named the frog after his mother. Biologists have been puzzled that such a large frog, living so close to Saigon, has gone unnoticed for so long.

8. Variable Atelope (Harlequin Toad)


Variable Atelopus - Atelopus varius - is endemic to Costa Rica and over the past few years, due to the spread of the fungus and climate change, the population of this frog species has declined rapidly. On this moment only one isolated population remained. This species is now dangerously close to extinction.

7 Goliath Frog

Goliath frog - Conraua goliath - is the largest frog in the world. It can grow up to thirty-three centimeters in length, and its weight can reach three kilograms. The goliath frog is twice the size of a giant frog African bullfrog(giant African Bullfrog).

The creature is endemic to western Africa. It feeds on crabs, small snakes and even other frogs. The Goliath frog does not make any sounds due to the lack of vocal glands. She has huge, powerful legs that allow her to jump long distances, up to three meters. Unfortunately, like many other frog species, the goliath frog is vulnerable to human activity such as hunting, deforestation and animal trade. These factors have already made this species of frog an endangered species.

6. Ovoviviparous Toad (Morogoro Tree Toad)


Endemic to the rainforests and grasslands of Tanzania, the ovoviviparous toad, Nectophrynoides Viviparus, has large glands on its body near the eyes and limbs. These glands come in all sorts of colors, including orange, gray, green, red, and white. The color of the gland usually contrasts with the rest of the frog's skin.

The eggs hatch while still inside the female, and are born as small but fully formed toads. This type of pregnancy is quite rare in amphibians.

5. Pebble Toad (Venezuela Pebble Toad)

The pebble toad tends to live in mountainous areas with a lot of steep slopes. In case of danger, such as a tarantula (one of the main predators that prey on this type of toad), it hides its head and limbs under its body, and then tenses its muscles. Thus, it forms a ball, and then rolls down from the nearest hill into a puddle or gap at its foot.

The pebble toad does not take any damage from rolling and bouncing because it is very light and its muscles are very strong. The frog uses this defense mechanism because rolling down is much faster for it than jumping, and it can't jump long distances.

4. Licheny Paddlefoot or Mossy Frog (Vietnamese Mossy Frog)

The lichen paddlepod - Theloderma corticale, lives in tropical forests and swamps northern Vietnam. The frog got its name because of its distinctive camouflage pattern, which looks like moss and lichen. When predators approach, the frog hides its paws under itself so that only the mossy areas of its body are visible. This frog has large pads on its feet with which it stays in trees, and its diet consists entirely of insects. The frogs lay their eggs on the walls of the caves, and the tadpoles fall into the water below, where they spend the rest of their lives. The lichened copepod is a popular pet in Asia.

3 Turtle Frog


The turtle frog, Myobatrachus gouldii, lives in the semi-arid regions of Western Australia. She has a very unusual appearance - she looks like a turtle without a shell, with a round pink-brown body, a small head and short limbs. Their limbs are short and muscular, allowing them to dig in sand and break open termite mounds, which are the frog's main food source.

The turtle frog does not go through the tadpole stage, instead it grows into a fully formed little frog while still inside the egg. Therefore, turtle frog eggs are the largest among the eggs of all frogs in Australia, their size reaches 5 - 7 millimeters in length.

2. Glass frog (Glass Frog)

unusual looking glass frog- Centrolenidae, endemic to the Amazon.

The main part of the body of these frogs is green, but there is a transparent skin on the underside of their body. This allows you to clearly see their liver, heart and intestines. In pregnant females, you can even see frog eggs located inside. It is believed that the transparent skin of the frog serves as protection, and allows the light reflected from the leaves to shine through it. This makes it much less visible to predators. They live in trees in humid mountain regions and lay their eggs on leaves. The tadpoles then fall down into the water and continue to grow into adulthood.

1. Surinam pipa (Surinam Toad)


The first place in this list is occupied by the Surinamese pipa - Pipa pipa. Like many other frogs, it lives in the Amazon rainforest. This is a large frog that can grow up to twenty centimeters in length. Compared to other species, this frog has a very flat body and tiny eyes. These frogs are usually muddy brown and have no tongue or teeth. When looking for a partner, the Surinamese pipa does not croak like normal frogs, instead it makes a shrill clicking sound with the help of two bones located in the throat.

Even stranger are the spawning and reproductive ways of the pipa. The male attaches to the female in a pond, forming an amplexus, a peculiar form of pseudocopulation. The pair then jump out of the water several times. After each jump, the female releases several eggs, which are implanted on her back through the skin. These eggs then burrow deeper into the body, and within these pockets develop into fully formed pipas. Then, during childbirth, they break out of the skin of the female.

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Purple Frog


The purple frog, Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis, is a unique frog species and the only member of the Nasikabatrachidae family that lives in the mountains of southern India. The frog has smooth, purple skin and a large, round body with squat limbs. The head of this frog is small, and the nose looks like a pig's snout. The purple frog spends most of its life underground and emerges from its tunnel for only two weeks each year. This species has evolved independently over 130 million years and its closest living relatives are the Seychelles frogs (Sooglossidae frogs) of the Seychelles.

common frog - pretty normal view amphibians in the European part of Russia. Everyone has known her since childhood, although because of her brown color she is often called a “toad”. It is on her example that the structure of amphibians is studied at school, and it is she who is used in various experiments by biologists and physicians.

Common frog (Rana temporaria) is a member of the family of true frogs (Ranidae). This is a rather large amphibian: the length of the amphibian reaches 10 cm. The body is massive, the head is large. The color of the amphibian can vary from beige to chocolate. Dark spots are scattered on the upper side of the body various shapes and sizes, as well as tubercles. The belly is light, with a yellowish or greenish tint, usually with a dark marbled pattern. A dark temporal spot extends from the posterior edge of the eye through the tympanic membrane to the base of the forelimb.

In males, the body is more slender; the slits of paired resonators are in the corners of the mouth. During the breeding season, pronounced marriage calluses appear on the first finger, and the color also changes somewhat - the upper side of the body becomes lighter, while the throat acquires a bluish tint.

By appearance The grass frog is very similar to another widespread species, the moor frog. However, looking closely, they are easy to distinguish. Firstly, our heroine is the owner of a more blunt muzzle than her relative, secondly, she is noticeably larger, and thirdly, she has a pronounced marble dark pattern on her belly (the sharp-faced belly is white). In addition, our heroine has a lower internal calcaneal tubercle.

Common frog habitats

This amphibian is distributed throughout Europe, with the exception of the Iberian Peninsula. It is found throughout Scandinavia and goes farther north than all other amphibians. In the European part of Russia in the north it reaches the coast White Sea. The eastern border of the range stretches to the lower reaches of the Irtysh, in the south - to the regions of the middle reaches of the Volga.

Amphibian inhabits almost all biotypes, but most often gives preference to coniferous, deciduous and mixed forests. At the border of its range, it is found even in the tundra and steppes. She also lives in cultivated areas - fields, vegetable gardens, gardens and parks. The mountains rise up to 3000 meters above sea level.

Like other amphibians, the common frog tries to avoid salty water bodies and is not able to live even a day in water, the salinity of which reaches up to 0.07%.

Common frog lifestyle in nature

These amphibians spend most of their lives on land, but they try to avoid too dry places. They need water bodies mainly only in mating season, although it is not uncommon to see them near or in water after the breeding season has ended.

Frogs take refuge in dense thickets of plants, deadwood, stones, voids in the ground: under them they hide from enemies and adverse weather.

As a rule, each individual lives in the same place for several years: in its area, the frog is familiar with all places suitable for hunting, shelters and wintering.

For common frog activity great importance has ambient humidity. It is not so often possible to meet her in the morning or on a bright sunny day. Her stormy activity begins in the evening and at night. In summer, when there is no rain for a long time, and the earth dries up, it is unlikely that at least one individual will be found in the forest. But as soon as it rains or falls in heavy dew, there are many of them.

The lower air temperature does not limit the activity of grass frogs: even at 2-3°C they are active, although amphibians feel most comfortable at a temperature of 17-20°C.

These amphibians cease to be active with the onset of regular frosts. Juveniles leave for wintering somewhat later than adults; they can be found even in November, if the temperature during the day is not lower than 0 ° C.

What's for lunch?

The diet of grass frogs depends on the characteristics of the area in which they live. They feed on various soil and terrestrial invertebrates. There are few flying insects in the diet of these amphibians, since they hunt mainly in the dark, when there are much fewer flying animals. At the northern border of the range, they diversify their diet with aquatic organisms.

The intensity of nutrition is not the same in different time of the year. So, during the breeding season, they observe the so-called "marriage fast".

Wintering features

Hibernation of grass frogs lasts an average of 180 days: for amphibians living in our latitudes, this is a rather short period.

Amphibians can winter not only on land, but also at the bottom of water bodies, preferring fast-flowing non-freezing rivers, muddy swamps and peat ditches. In lakes, ponds and big rivers amphibians hibernate very rarely. Freezing water leads to the death of frogs. In addition, in stagnant water bodies under the ice, deaths often occur - all living things die from a lack of oxygen. Amphibians can also die due to spring floods. Amphibians wintering on land in shelters can also overtake a sad fate - often they do not survive in frosty and little snowy winters.

Under water, the amphibian "sleeps" in a peculiar position: its hind limbs are tucked in, and the front ones, turned out with their "palms" outward, seem to cover their head. At the same time, the “palms” become bright red from the dense network of blood vessels developing in their skin. Frogs hibernating under water can sometimes move around and even have something to eat.

A different number of frogs can sleep in one place: it happens that they winter alone, but more often there are winterings consisting of 20-30 individuals, and in individual cases their number can reach several hundred copies.

Migrations

In the life of these frogs, 3 types of migration are expressed. Firstly, this is the annual migration to breeding grounds and back, secondly, the migration of frogs that have just completed metamorphoses to their permanent habitats, and, thirdly, migration to wintering grounds.

Frogs can gather to suitable wintering places, covering a distance of up to 1.5 km in one day. Sometimes in autumn you can see large cluster amphibians in places close to their future wintering grounds: along the banks of rivers, in wetlands, etc.

procreation

Common frogs go to reservoirs for laying eggs in early spring. In an effort to continue their race, they leave their usual habitats and overcome considerable distances and various obstacles.

Spawning reservoirs for them can be a wide variety of stagnant reservoirs - even road ruts filled with water and puddles are suitable for laying eggs.

Egg laying occurs at water temperatures from +5 to + 15 ° C, sometimes ice can still remain on its surface in places.

Depending on the conditions of a particular reservoir, reproduction lasts from 2 to 10 days. At breeding sites, males do not make much noise, they do not suit long and loud singing. They call their girlfriends with separate signals lasting about a second and resembling a quiet rumbling.

Males appear at the reservoir shortly before females. Sometimes pairs connect already on land, when the female is just heading for the water. Like males obsessed with the desire to leave offspring, male common frogs can “embrace” other amphibian species that accidentally “fall under the arm”.

The female that laid her eggs immediately leaves the reservoir and hurries back to her permanent habitat, but the male remains. If he is lucky, then the next night he will leave offspring with another female.

The female lays up to 4 thousand eggs. The masonry has the form of a lump, which at first is small in size, but soon the shells of the eggs swell, and the lump increases several times, while taking the form of a shapeless jelly-like mass. Such masonry can often be observed in shallow water. Interestingly, common frog eggs can easily withstand hypothermia down to -6 ° C without losing the ability to develop. However, without harm to themselves, they cannot withstand temperatures from + 24 ° C for a long time.

IN normal conditions embryonic development lasts from 5 to 15 days. The larvae feed on organic matter and small plants that decompose in the water. Even in spacious reservoirs, tadpoles form dense clusters - up to 100 individuals per liter. The area of ​​shallow water where such a colony is located looks like a solid black mass.

Depending on the conditions, the development of larvae lasts 1.5-3 months and ends with metamorphosis.

In dry and hot years, early drying of water bodies leads to mass death of both clutches located near the very shores and accumulations of tadpoles, which, when the water recedes, are cut off from deeper water areas. Under more favorable conditions, a mass of larvae survive to metamorphosis, and after its completion, many tiny frogs leave water bodies at the same time. At this time, they often die from drying out, under the wheels of vehicles, or become the prey of all kinds of predators. Those that manage to survive feed intensively to successfully survive the long cold season.

Common frogs reach sexual maturity in the third year of life. IN natural conditions they live an average of 6-8 years.

Enemies

There are many lovers in nature to feast on frogs, especially small ones. These are minks, weasels, wolves, foxes, snakes, crows, hawks, magpies, etc.

Even the eggs of these amphibians covered with jelly-like shells are not very edible, but they are also hunted by planarians, insects, larvae of other amphibians, etc. All aquatic predators prey on tadpoles.

Keeping grass frogs at home

Since this species is very demanding on moisture, one must not forget to spray water over the substrate once a day. In addition, it is necessary to put a large, but not deep reservoir in the terrarium.

It is desirable to arrange the terrarium under the corner of the forest.

They feed the pet with flies, cockroaches, bloodworms, tubifex, etc.

In contact with

A toad, or a real toad, is usually attributed to the class of amphibians, the order of anurans and the family of toads. It is worth noting that many people confuse the family of toads and the family of frogs. There are even languages ​​that use the same name to identify these amphibians.

Description of the ground toad. How is it different from a frog

The earth toad has a slightly flattened body. The head of an amphibian is large with strongly pronounced parotid glands. The upper jaw is completely missing teeth. The eyes are rather large, the pupils are located horizontally. On the front and hind limbs there are fingers that are interconnected by swimming membranes.

Many people wonder why the frog jumps and the ground toad walks? main reason thing is the ground toad has rather short hind legs, therefore, the amphibian is very slow, not as jumpy as a frog, and swims poorly. However, individuals have another unique ability - they can catch insects flying by with a lightning movement of their tongue. Frogs have smoother skin than toads and need constant moisture. That is why frogs spend most of their time in water bodies. Toads have dry, keratinized skin that does not need moisture. She also has warts.

The ground toad also has poisonous glands, which are located on the back. These glands secrete mucus, which, when it comes into contact with the skin, provokes an unpleasant burning sensation, but is not able to inflict on a person. great harm. An amphibian can easily hide from enemies, as it has a gray, brown, black and spotted color. If the individual is bright in color, then this may indicate its toxicity.

As for the size of the amphibian, then length ranges from 2.5 cm to 53 cm. Weight large species can reach more than a kilogram. The average lifespan of an amphibian toad is about 30 years. There are also some species that can live up to 40 years.

The main types of amphibian toads

Currently, about 579 species of amphibian toads are known to science, which are divided into 40 genera, a third of which can be found on European territory. Only 6 species from the genus Bufo live in the CIS countries:

• ordinary;
• green;
• Far Eastern;
• Caucasian;
• reedy or smelly;
• Mongolian.

It is worth familiarizing yourself with the description of the above types in more detail.

Where do toads live

Due to the fact that there are many various kinds ground toads, their range is very wide. The list of places of distribution of these amphibians does not include only Antarctica. Even in Australia, it has recently been artificially bred poisonous toad population.

Ground toads live in a variety of geographical areas:

• on swampy shores;
• in floodplain meadows;
• in the steppes;
• in dry deserts.

It is also worth noting that toads are terrestrial inhabitants, and they enter reservoirs only for spawning. Amphibians lead a solitary lifestyle, and gather in groups only during the mating season.

What do toads eat

If we talk about the method of nutrition, then earthen toads are typical predators. They feed mainly on small invertebrates:

• butterflies;
• snails;
• worms;
• insects;
• insect larvae;
• fish fry.

The diet of larger species may include:

• small rodents;
• lizards;
• frogs.

Amphibians are more active at night and twilight. Amphibians jump out of ambush on their prey.

reproduction

The mating season in conditions temperate climate usually starts in the spring. In tropical regions, this period falls on the rainy season. During the mating season, females and males gather near water bodies. The male attracts females with the help of a special resonator, which is located behind the ears or on the throat, making peculiar sounds. When the female approaches the male, he climbs on her back and fertilizes the eggs she lays. The clutch consists of two gelatinous cords and contains up to 7 thousand eggs.. After the females finish spawning, they leave the reservoir and settle down on its shore.

In the period from 5 days to 2 months, larvae appear. This period depends on the type of amphibians. The larvae turn into tailed tadpoles, and then into young tailless individuals. Puberty in young individuals occurs only a year after birth. In Africa, there are some species of ground toads that are viviparous. Currently, they are on the verge of extinction and are listed in the Red Book.