Frogs - How Amazing Are They?

All of us are familiar with them. They are easily available in the ponds, streams, lakes etc. during the rainy season their croaking sounds can be easily heard which disturbs our peace. We are talking about the frogs. Frogs belong to the phylum Chordata and class Amphibia. They have the potential to live on water as well as on land. They are anuran which means that they are tailless and belong to the order Anura. Majority of the frogs possess long hind limbs, webbed digits, short body, protruding eyes and no tail. Frogs have great powers of jumping from here and there which is governed by their short body and long hind legs which help in performing jumping. They have a permeable skin and are semi-aquatic, prefer to live in the humid areas but can easily walk on land. They are oviparous and lay their eggs in ponds and lakes. The larvae that hatch out of the eggs are called tadpoles which are characterized by the presence of gills and they complete their development in water. Adult frogs are carnivorous and feed on gastropods, annelids and arthropods. They are easily noticed during their mating season by their croaking sound.

Frogs are easily available in the tropic and subarctic regions but majority of the species are found in the tropical rain forests. They form the diverse group of vertebrates and about 5,000 species are known till present. Some species are however on the verge of extinction. Frogs are different from the toads as the toads prefer to live in dry habitats and this distinction is made on the basis of convergent evolution. The word frog has been derived from an Old English word frogga which means 'to jump'.