Frog

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the group of amphibians. For other uses, see Frog (disambi
guation).
Frogs
Temporal range:
Early Jurassic - Present, 200 0 Ma
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Anoures.jpg
Various types of frogs.
Scientific classification e
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Clade: Salientia
Order: Anura
Dumril, 1806 (as Anoures)
Suborders
Archaeobatrachia
Mesobatrachia
Neobatrachia
List of Anuran families
Distribution.anura.1.png
Native distribution of frogs (in green)
Frogs are a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amph
ibians composing the order Anura (Ancient Greek an-, without + oura, tail). The
oldest fossil "proto-frog" appeared in the early Triassic of Madagascar, but mol
ecular clock dating suggests their origins may extend further back to the Permia
n, 265 million years ago. Frogs are widely distributed, ranging from the tropics
to subarctic regions, but the greatest concentration of species diversity is in
tropical rainforests. There are approximately 4,800 recorded species, accountin
g for over 85% of extant amphibian species. They are also one of the five most d
iverse vertebrate orders.
The body plan of an adult frog is generally characterized by a stout body, protr
uding eyes, cleft tongue, limbs folded underneath, and the absence of a tail in
adults. Besides living in fresh water and on dry land, the adults of some specie
s are adapted for living underground or in trees. The skin of the frog is glandu
lar, with secretions ranging from distasteful to toxic. Warty species of frog te
nd to be called toads but the distinction between frogs and toads is based on in
formal naming conventions concentrating on the warts rather than taxonomy or evo
lutionary history; some toads are more closely related to frogs than to other to
ads. Frogs' skins vary in colour from well-camouflaged dappled brown, grey and g
reen to vivid patterns of bright red or yellow and black to advertise toxicity a
nd warn off predators.
Frogs typically lay their eggs in water. The eggs hatch into aquatic larvae call
ed tadpoles that have tails and internal gills. They have highly specialized ras
ping mouth parts suitable for herbivorous, omnivorous or planktivorous diets. Th
e life cycle is completed when they metamorphose into adults. A few species depo
sit eggs on land or bypass the tadpole stage. Adult frogs generally have a carni
vorous diet consisting of small invertebrates, but omnivorous species exist and
a few feed on fruit. Frogs are extremely efficient at converting what they eat i
nto body mass. They are an important food source for predators and part of the f
ood web dynamics of many of the world's ecosystems. The skin is semi-permeable,
making them susceptible to dehydration, so they either live in moist places or h
ave special adaptations to deal with dry habitats. Frogs produce a wide range of
vocalizations, particularly in their breeding season, and exhibit many differen

t kinds of complex behaviours to attract mates, to fend off predators and to gen
erally survive.
Frogs are valued as food by humans and also have many cultural roles in literatu
re, symbolism and religion. Frog populations have declined significantly since t
he 1950s. More than one third of species are considered to be threatened with ex
tinction and over one hundred and twenty are believed to have become extinct sin
ce the 1980s.[1] The number of malformations among frogs is on the rise and an e
merging fungal disease, chytridiomycosis, has spread around the world. Conservat
ion biologists are working to understand the causes of these problems and to res
olve them.