A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura. The oldest fossil "proto-frog" Triadobatrachus is known from the Early Triassic of Madagascar, but molecular clock dating suggests their split from other amphibians may extend further back to the Permian, 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 rainforest. Frogs account for around 88% of extant amphibian species. They are also one of the five most diverse vertebrate orders. Warty frog species tend to be called toads, but the distinction between frogs and toads is informal, not from taxonomy or evolutionary history.
A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found in adult amphibians such as a lateral line, gills and swimming tails. As they undergo metamorphosis, they start to develop functional lungs for breathing air, and the diet of tadpoles changes drastically.
Limnodynastes dumerilii is a frog species from the family Limnodynastidae. The informal names for the species and its subspecies include eastern or southern banjo frog, and bull frog. The frog is also called the pobblebonk after its distinctive "bonk" call, which is likened to a banjo string being plucked. There are five subspecies of L. dumerilii, each with different skin coloration. The species is native to eastern Australia. There has been one occurrence in New Zealand, when tadpoles of the species were found in 1999 and destroyed.
The European fire-bellied toad is a species of fire-bellied toad native to eastern parts of mainland Europe, where it can be found near waterbodies such as ponds and marshes. It is known for its red colored belly used to ward off predators, an example of aposematism, and its distinctive "whoop" call.
The giant burrowing frog or eastern owl frog is a large frog species that occurs in coastal south-east New South Wales and Victoria in Australia. It is also known as the owl frog, southern owl frog, spotted owl frog, burrowing owl frog.
The tusked frog is a species of ground-dwelling frog native to eastern Australia from Eungella National Park, Queensland south to Ourimbah, New South Wales. It is the only species in the genus Adelotus - adelotus meaning "unseen" and brevis meaning "short".
The northern sheep frog is native to Central America, Mexico, and extreme south Texas, United States. It occurs in the lowlands from Sonora, Mexico, to northern Costa Rica on the Pacific coast, and south Texas to Honduras on the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean coasts. The sheep frog inhabits semiarid thornscrub, savannas, pasturelands, and open woodlands, as well as more humid, moist forest in the canyons, basins, foothills, and lower elevations of mountains slopes. It is a fossorial, burrowing frog that is seldom seen on the surface except at night after heavy rains when they emerge to breed. The sheep frog gets its name from its distinctive call that resembles a sheep's bleat. It is a diet specialist primarily feeding on termites and ants.
Notaden is a genus of burrowing ground frogs native to central and northern Australia. Their common name is Australian spadefoot toads.
The ornate burrowing frog is a species of ground frog native to Australia. It was moved to the genus Opisthodon in 2006, following a major revision of amphibians, and is now classified in the genus Platyplectrum.
The northern sandhill frog is a small, fossorial frog native to a small region of the Western Australian coast. It was formerly considered the sole species within the genus Arenophryne until the first decade of the 2000s, when a new species of frog called the southern sandhill frog was discovered about 100 kilometres from Geraldton, Western Australia in Kalbarri National Park and given the scientific name Arenophryne xiphorhyncha.
The striped burrowing frog is a species of burrowing frog in the subfamily Pelodryadinae of the family Hylidae. It occurs throughout much of Australia, from northern New South Wales, through eastern and northern Queensland and into eastern Northern Territory. This species was once included in the genus Litoria or Cyclorana.
The plains spadefoot toad is a species of American spadefoot toad which ranges from southwestern Canada, throughout the Great Plains of the western United States, and into northern Mexico. Like other species of spadefoot toads, they get their name from a spade-like projections on their hind legs which allow them to dig into sandy soils. Their name, in part, comes from their keratinized metatarsals, which are wide instead of "sickle shaped". The species name translates as buzzing leaf shaped. This refers to the species distinguishing features; its buzzing mating call, and its leaf-shaped digging metatarsals. First described by Cope in 1863.
Ranoidea australis, commonly known as the giant frog, northern snapping frog, or round frog, is a burrowing species of frog native to Australia. It occurs from western Queensland through to northern Western Australia.
The Sudell's frog, painted burrowing frog, trilling frog or desert trilling frog is a species of burrowing frog common to a large part of southeastern Australia. It is found on and west of the Great Dividing Range of New South Wales to western Victoria and southern Queensland as well as far eastern South Australia.
The Italian tree frog is a species of frog in the family Hylidae, found in Italy, Slovenia, Switzerland, and possibly San Marino. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, rivers, intermittent rivers, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, arable land, and urban areas. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The savannah forest tree frog or ground tree frog is a species of frog in the family Arthroleptidae. It occurs in West and Middle Africa. The relationship of this species with Leptopelis bocagei is not fully settled.
The cape rain frog or giant rain frog is a species of frog in the family Brevicipitidae. Adults grow up to 45 mm in length. It was the first African frog species to be scientifically described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, under the name Rana gibbosa. It is the most common and largest of rain frogs. The name "rain frog" that is applied to the genus refers to a belief that these frogs bring rain.
Taruga eques is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to the central hills of Sri Lanka.
Bioadhesives are natural polymeric materials that act as adhesives. The term is sometimes used more loosely to describe a glue formed synthetically from biological monomers such as sugars, or to mean a synthetic material designed to adhere to biological tissue.
Platyplectrum is a genus of ground-dwelling frog in the family Limnodynastidae. Species in this genus are found in Australia, New Guinea, and on the Aru Islands. They are medium-sized frogs and the dorsal skin has a sandpaper-like texture.
