Frogs Around
the World

Frogs are found in every continent of the world except Antarctica.

Tropical regions have the greatest variety of species ranging from forms which have totally adapted to living in trees (even the eggs and tadpoles are laid and develop in rainwater caught by leaves), to the world of jumping and burrowing frogs.

Deserts offer refuge and food to certain species, which manage to find water by digging long tunnels in the arid land.

Frogs are found north of the Arctic Circle, in tropical rainforests and in alpine regions of the world. Here are some of the more interesting species of frogs from around the world.

* During breeding the male blacksmith frog (Hyla faber) found in Argentina and Brazil builds a crater-like nest of mud, in which a pool forms. After the eggs are fertilised the parents leave the nest in which the tadpoles can develop.

* The paradoxical frog (Pseudis paradoxa) which is found on the island of Trinidad and in the Amazon Basin, has tadpoles which can reach 250mm long, whereas the adult frogs rarely measure more than 75mm.

* One of the smallest frogs in the world is the Cuban Sminthillus limbatus which is just 12mm long.

* The female tree frog Osteocephalus oophagus of Brazil lays her eggs in a bromeliad plant which has become filled with water. As the tadpoles grow and develop, she returns periodically to lay more eggs for them to eat!

* The male blue-spined glass frog Centrolene prosoblepon of Costa rica uses bony hooks in his armpits as weapons in territorial fights. The skin on the bellies of glass or "ghost" frogs can be so transluscent that the internal organs are visible.

* A new frog Eleutherodactylus phasma - the phantom frog has recently been found in Costa Rica. It's 5cm long and is nearly pure white in colour.

* An Argentinean horned frog Ceratophrys ornata, has biting teeth.

* The frog Lithodytes lineatus from Ecuador is very strange. Its tadpoles are fed by leaf cutter ants! Adult frogs not only eat the ants but they lay their eggs in the partly flooded nests of the ants as well. The ants use the flooded parts of the nest as refuse tips. The particles dropped in by the ants are devoured by the developing tadpoles. The tadpoles are weird as well. They are a rich red colour, because their blood has high levels of the oxygen-trapping pigment, haemoglobin. The tadpoles need to be able to trap as much oxygen as possible to survive in their overcrowded, stagnant nursery.

* The common American bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) is the largest American frog and can catch and eat young birds and fish.

* The poison-arrow frog of the family Dendrobatidae in the jungles of central and south America has poisonous liquid in its skin that protects it from predators. Indians of the region coat their arrows in the poison.

* The harlequin frog (Rhacophorus pardalis) has almost vanished from the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve in Costa Rica despite being under protection.

* In California the mountain yellow-legged frog is missing from most of the Sierra Nevada, while the red-legged frog that once lived throughout Southern California is now down to one remote area of Riverside County.

* A rare Jamaican frog (Eleutherodactylus cundalli) carries its fully developed froglets on its back. The frog breeds in caves and when the young turn into froglets they climb on their mothers back and she carries them to a more suitable habitat.

* The northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens) lives throughout southern Canada and the northern U.S. The pattern of spots on the frog's skin gives this species its common name.

* The largest, saggiest-skinned aquatic frog in the world is found in Lake Titicaca in South America, 3,815m above sea level and is called Telmatobius culeus. It spends most of its life under water and rarely surfaces to breathe. It breathes through its skin which is highly folded to nearly double the area available for breathing. Local people use the frog as rain makers and they believe their juice has healing powers. Both uses have seen the decline in this interesting species.

* The male moor frog (Rana arvalis) which occurs in the Morava River Region of the Slovak Republic turns itself blue for its courtship display.

* The legs of the edible frog (Rana esculenta) are a popular food source in some European countries.

* The common frog (Rana temporaria) lives in northern and central Europe. It is even found in the cold regions north of the Arctic Circle.

* The European tree frog (Hyla arborea) lives by water until it has spawned, then migrates to trees and bushes.

* Only six species of frog occur in Europe. These are the moor frog (Rana arvalis), common frog (Rana temporaria), European tree frog (Hyla arborea), edible frog (Rana esculenta), marsh frog (Rana esculenta ridibunda) and the agile frog (Rana dalmatina).

* In the Seychelles there is a male frog which carries its young around on its back until they become adults.

* The Goliath frog (Rana goliath) is the biggest frog in the world and has a body that is 30cm long. It is found in the west African Cameroons.

* The African grey tree frog Chiromantis petersi kelleri makes a foam nest to protect its brood from drying up in the heat.

* A clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) is found in south and east Africa. This frog spends most of its life in the water and uses its clawed toes to stir up the mud at the bottom of ponds when searching for food.

* The male hairy frog of west Africa (Trichobatrachus robustus) is covered in hair for some strange reason. It may be for recognition or camouflage.

* Biologists have discovered a wealth of new frog species in the rainforests of eastern Madagascar. 106 new frogs were discovered during a four year survey.

* South Africa has one of the most varied frog populations in the world, with more than 50 of its 106 species found nowhere else.

* Asian tree frogs build nests in trees over water so that when their tadpoles hatch they drop directly into the water.

* The Borneo flying frog (Rhacophorus nigropalmatus) can glide from tree to tree with limbs and webbed toes outspread to act as air brakes and rudimentary wings.

* The torrent frog in China's rainforests has suction pads on its feet to help it hold onto boulders when the rivers are in flood. Even the tadpoles have tiny suckers on their lower jaw for the same purpose.

* The Indian green frog (Rana hexadactyla) all but shuns the traditional amphibian diet of insects and feeds mainly on leaves and flowers. It is the only known leaf-eating frog in the world, with plants accounting for about 80% of its diet.

* Odorous frogs in China's rainforest produce a strong pungent odour that deters predators.

* The world's most ancient frogs are the Leiopelmid's. They are survivors of the Jurassic period 200 million years ago. Archey's frog (Leiopelma archeys), one member of this group occurs in New Zealand.

* The corroboree frog of Australia lives in the mountains. It lays its eggs in moss and the tadpoles stay in the eggs until rain washes them into streams.

* There was an unusual frog in Australia that incubated its young in its stomach. However it has not been seen for the last 13 years.

* Australian Desert Frogs can absorb so much water after a rainstorm that Aborigines catch during the dry season to drink their water store. These frogs spend the heat of the day in deep burrows. They breed immediately after a sudden downpour of rain. Since the rainy season is short, tadpoles develop very rapidly.

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