Frog

Description:

There are about 53 known species, but new ones are still being described occasionally. They are collectively known as fanged frogs because they tend to have unusually large teeth, which are small or absent in other frogs. Adult Common Frogs have a body length of 6 to 9 centimetres (2.5 to 3.7in) and their backs and flanks vary in colour, with olive green[3] grey-brown, brown, olive-brown, grey, yellowish or rufous possible. However, Common Frogs are known to be able to lighten and darken their skin in order to match their surroundings. It is also not unknown for more unusual colouration- both black and red individuals have been found in Scotland, and male Common Frogs have been known to turn greyish blue in the mating season . Additionally, albino Common Frogs have been found with yellow skin and red eyes. Their average weight is 22.7g (0.8oz). Females are usually slightly larger than males. Adult Common Frogs will feed on any invertebrate of a suitable size, although they do not feed at all during the breeding season. Favourites foods include insects (especially flies), snails, slugs and worms. The frogs catch their prey on their long, sticky tongues. Their feeding habits change significantly throughout their lives; whereas older frogs will feed only on land, younger frogs will also feed in the water. Tadpoles are mostly herbivores, feeding on algae, detritus and some plants, although they will also eat other animals in small amounts. Tadpoles are eaten by fish, beetles, dragonfly larvae and birds. Adult frogs have many predators including birds of prey, crows, gulls, ducks, terns, herons, pine martens, stoats, weasels, polecats, badgers and otters.

Habitat:

Swamp Area,Grass areaOutside the breeding season, common frogs live a solitary life in damp places near ponds or marshes or in long grass. They are normally active for much of the year, only hibernating in the coldest months, sometime between August and early June depending on latitude and altitude. In the most northern extremities of their range they may be trapped under ice for up to nine months of the year, but recent studies have shown that in these conditions they may be relatively active at temperatures close to freezing.[ In the British Isles, common frogs typically hibernate from late October to January. They will re-emerge as early as February if conditions are favourable, and migrate to bodies of water such as garden ponds to spawn.Where conditions are harsher, such as in the Alps, they emerge as lates early June. Common frogs hibernate in running waters, muddy burrows, or in layers of decaying leaves and mud at the bottom of ponds. The oxygen uptake through the skin suffices to sustain the needs of the cold and motionless frogs during hibernation.