15 Fascinating Facts about Frogs for Kids
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Children love knowing more about fascinating creatures and frogs are one of them! Frogs are an amazing species, and they are excellent indicators of the environment quality. Check out this list of interesting frog facts.
15 Interesting Frogs Facts for Children
- Frogs belong to the family Ranidae, which has more than 400 species. They are tailless amphibians. Amphibians are cold-blooded vertebrate animals, and they can exist in both water and land. Frogs differ from reptiles because they do not have scaled skin and most of them return to the water for breeding.
- Frogs lay their eggs in the water. The eggs hatch and then they become tadpoles. These tadpoles have long tails to swim and can breathe through their gills. The tadpoles slowly change into a frog, and they live in the water until then. This is an interesting frog cycle for kids.
- Antarctica is the only continent where frogs cannot be found. There are so many members present in the frog family such as common frog, bullfrog, leopard frog, green frog, marsh frog, wood frog, and pickerel frog. Toads are found in every country except the Polar Regions, Australia, Polynesia, and Madagascar.
- Just like a human’s tongue, the tongue of a frog is not attached to the back of its mouth. The tongue is attached to the front where the frog can extend the tongue out further. The frog makes use of the sticky coating on the tongue to catch its prey.
- Every toad is basically a frog. More than 300 species of toads currently live on this planet. Frogs have bodies that are stubby with short hind legs which allow them to hop instead of walk. These toads have dry and warty skin, and they usually prefer dryer climates. Poison glands are also present behind their eyes.
- Frogs have the ability to hibernate. In extreme conditions, they could also enter torpor, a state which can last for several months.
- The biggest frog is the Goliath Frog. They are found in Cameroon, West Africa. The bodies of these frogs can reach the size of about a foot (30 cm). They even have long feet.
- Many species of toads and frogs can live for around 4 to 15 years. European Common Toad has the longest lifespan. One of these frogs lived to become 40 years old. It takes a typical pond frog three years to become mature and then it will be ready to breed.
- Frogs have bulging eyes. They also have long, strong, webbed hind feet which are adapted for swimming and leaping. They have big round ears called tympanum on the sides of their head. Sounds are made by male frogs by squeezing their lungs with the help of their nostrils and closing their mouths. Air flows into their vocal sacs over their vocal cords blowing the sacs up like a bubble gum balloon.
- Frogs have a visual field of almost 360° so they can look around them all the time.
- Frogs are considered to be prey in the wild by many animals and do not live a very long life. This is why some frogs, to protect themselves from predators, have a coating on their skin. Most of the time, this coating is poisonous. Many tribal cultures in the forest use this coating for battle by putting the poison on their spear tips.
- Frogs get oxygen when the skin is moist, which is why they need to take care of their skin to avoid being suffocated. Some frogs have slimy skin because the skin secretes mucus to keep it moist.
- Though they have the slimy skin, they need to be around water. But toads have a tougher skin which does not dry fast allowing them to live farther away from water when compared to most frogs.
- Once a week, the frog will completely shed its skin. It usually eats the skin after pulling it off.
- Frog legs are eaten by people in many parts of the world. In Asia, they are consumed in Vietnam, China, Indonesia, and Thailand.
Frogs are a true sign of a proper and well-balanced ecosystem. Pollution is the biggest enemy of frogs. With this frog information for kids, the kids will definitely learn something new and interesting.
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