Did you know that the British Frogs and Toads are some of the most threatened amphibians in Europe?
This is due to several factors, including habitat loss, pollution, disease.
These creatures are on the brink of extinction, with less than 1% remaining in their natural habitats.
In this blog post, we will explore these little known facts about British frogs and toads.
Frogs and toads have been around for over 300 million years
This is sometimes called a blink of an eye on the geological timescale.
The first amphibians appeared during the Carboniferous period and have survived on earth for this long because of their adaptation to predators.
These animals can blend in with the environment by changing their skin colour and being excellent jumpers.
Their skin drinks, breathe and get rid of toxins all at once
Frogs can change their skin colour because of the cells in their skin.
These cells are known as chromatophores and contain black, white, yellow or red pigments.
They use this adaptation for different reasons such as mating rituals, hiding from predators or varying levels of light entering water bodies.
What is interesting about frog behaviour is that during rain, they tend to sit with their mouths open, allowing them to get rid of toxins inside their body from other animals and plants that they have eaten.
This helps frogs survive when ponds and puddles dry up during the summer months.
Toads are poisonous due to a chemical known as tetrodotoxin found in many amphibians, including newts, salamanders, and now we know toads.
The chemical is extremely poisonous, and there are some cases where humans have died from eating them.
Tetrodotoxin paralyses the muscles and stops them from working.
One of the most exciting types of frogs in Britain today are considered to be “painted” frogs which sport vivid colours such as reds, oranges, yellows or blues on their back legs.
The males use these colours for mating with females, where they will stand out against competitors from other species during the breeding season.
Are British frogs only found in ponds?
No, not!
You can find frogs throughout the country.
Although they prefer damp areas such as wetlands, ditches, ponds and swamps, you will also find some of the most amazing frogs, toads and other amphibians on beaches.
You can find common species such as brown or palmate newts are commonly found across the UK coast, with numbers reaching over 3000 in some places.
A national network of volunteers gathers data about our amphibian populations called the Amphibian and Reptile Monitoring Scheme.
There are many different methods used by this volunteer, which include finding eggs in ponds or breeding sites, counting how many times per night they call out or simply catching them.
There is also a National Frog Population Survey going on since 2010, where volunteers count every frog that they hear calling during their survey at certain times of the year.
This enables conservationists to get an idea of what is happening to frog populations.
You can sign up for either of these surveys on the Amphibian and Reptile Monitoring Scheme or Froglife website.
The average life span of a frog is 10-12 years.
Amphibians lay eggs in water, and the eggs stay in their aquatic environment.
The average life span is 10-12 years, and they generally have about two to three thousand frog’s eggs at one time.
They must have access to water to breed, which includes wetlands, ditches, ponds, swamps or beaches.
There is something called the tadpole stage, which lasts from two to six weeks, and this is where you will find lots of small frogs.
This is when they have gills on their backs and tails that are used for swimming. They eat with their digestive systems outside of their body at this point as they cannot move food into their stomachs until later on.
Frogs do not have teeth. They have a tongue-like structure called a ‘tongue pad’, which is used to grab their food and pull it into their stomach.
Fish are frogs natural predators, so they must be careful on the shoreline, but you will find some frogs in forest pools where they can also lay eggs.
They call out to other animals such as bats, badgers, woodpeckers and even humans to eat potential predators.
Once they become fully grown adult frogs, many frogs live for many years once they reach sexual maturity, which ranges from 2-6years.
This is called semiaquatic or aquatic living because some species spend part of their time on land while others spend more time at sea or in water bodies.
There are more than 3,000 species of frogs and toads in the world.
These species include newts, salamanders, and now we know toads.
The chemical is extremely poisonous, and there are some cases where humans have died from eating them.
Tetrodotoxin paralyses the muscles and stops them from working.
One of the most exciting types of frogs in Britain today are considered to be ‘painted’ frogs which sport vivid colours such as reds, oranges, yellows or blues on their back legs.
The males use these colours for mating with females where they will stand out against competitors from other species during the breeding season.”
Amphibians are cold-blooded, meaning they rely on their environment being a certain temperature to keep them warm.
Frogs are found on every continent except Antarctica, but the common frog is only native to Europe, Asia and Africa.
There are over 3,000 species of frogs and toads globally from as many as 500 different types of frogs that can be found in South America alone!
There are plenty of things that you could do if you are interested in becoming a conservation volunteer with amphibians.
You could join your local pond monitoring scheme or even go and visit one of our national parks, such as Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park.
If you wanted something more adventurous, you could also volunteer abroad at one of the many amphibian reserves such as the Belize rainforest or even in Costa Rica.
Frogs can jump as high as 6 feet.
Frogs are amphibians and can jump as high as 6 feet, a defence mechanism to avoid predators.
When they jump, they will put their back legs forward first.
They can also swim at speeds of up to 7 miles per hour!
Frogs can grow up to 2 inches long depending on what species they are, and how large the frog is when they hatch is also determined by their size at birth.
All animals’ offspring are known as ‘tadpoles’, a stage in their life when they do not have legs or arms and can only live underwater in a lake.
Unfortunately, several species of frogs are on the endangered list, such as Ecuador’s golden poison frog, Honduran white batrachians, Puerto Rico albinos, and the Colorado River toads.
This means that many amphibian conservationists work to save these endangered frogs.
Amphibians rely heavily on the water, so they must have access to freshwater, and this could be why certain regions of the world lack amphibians, including Australia, for example.
Frogs also need clean water; otherwise, if it becomes contaminated, there is an increased risk of infection from parasites or bacteria.
Frogs don’t drink through their mouths.
Did you know frogs don’t drink through their mouth?
They absorb water through their skin!
Frogs have glands in their mouths that work to make a protective coating so they can survive in different types of water.
They have two membranes in their mouth that fold back and secrete mucus which prevents dehydration.
Frogs also have an extended tongue instead of teeth but still, use it to catch prey. Some species have very long tongues to catch flies or even small fish.
A common misconception is that frogs are slimy, but they aren’t!
Their skin contains certain glands that produce mucus which protects them from drying out, and it also has a sleek, slippery texture, making them harder for predators to catch.
If you ever pick up a frog, it will clean its body by licking itself without water.
Their bodies can dry out quite quickly.
The common frog is not native to the UK.
Despite what many people think, the common frog popular in the UK is not native to the country.
The frog has been introduced here by those who have chosen to put them into their gardens.
Lots of people choose to keep frogs as pets because they are small and easy to handle.
The introduction of these animals has led to many changes in the habitat, which may significantly impact other species living there.
For example, this could mean that it would be harder for some insects to live there because frogs eat insects as part of their diet, which would make it more difficult for these species to thrive in their environment.
The common frog can reproduce up to three times a year and are long-distance breeders.
They will migrate from ponds to breeding sites which are normally much higher up in the water with steep sides.
This is because it makes it harder for predators such as fish or other frogs to access them.
They also make an explosive noise when they jump out of the water during their mating season, attracting females who then mate with males.
The female will lay her eggs between 1000-2000!
It takes around two weeks for this process to complete, and after they have been laid under rocks on dry land, they will soon turn into tadpoles and live in ponds.
Toads are born as tadpoles and grow into adults.
Toads are born as tadpoles and grow into adults.
Toads live in places with plenty of damp soil and are buried under the ground.
They like to hide beneath logs and stones during the day and only come out at night.
Toads are not slimy but have smooth, dry skin, making them hard for predators to catch because they can easily slip away from them.
Toads are the only amphibian that has a poisonous skin and secrete poison from glands in their skin.
It is unknown how this protects them, but it could be to stop predators from eating them alive because they will die when they bite or eat the toad!
Toads don’t have teeth but instead have a flat tongue that helps them find prey underground.
Frogs don’t have teeth.
Frogs don’t have teeth, so they use their tongue to feel for food in the water.
The frog’s tongue is unique because it can sense chemicals because of tiny bumps on its surface.
After a frog finds food, its tongue shoots out of the mouth and catches the food.
The tongue can shoot out up to 12 inches.
The American bullfrog is one of the biggest frogs on earth.
It has no teeth, so it uses its tongue to feel for its prey in water.
Other examples of frogs that use their tongues are sugar gliders, leopard frogs, and tree frogs.
Humans have tongues too, but they don’t have them as long or strong as some animals do.
Our tongues move less than half an inch a second while a tree frog’s tongue moves 2-3 times faster than ours!
If you could lick your elbow, you would find 28 muscles in your tongue and 1100 taste buds which makes our taste sense really good!
Toads make a loud croak sound when threatened.
This is because of the toad’s natural defence mechanism.
When the toad’s skin is touched, it emits a croak, which sounds like its name.
Toads also use this noise to tell other frogs that danger is near and should also croak.
Another fun fact, the toad croaks at a level of 120 decibels.
This is the same as an ambulance’s siren or a jet plane taking off!
The Cane Toad has poisonous glands under its chin and on its back legs.
When threatened, this toad will produce poison from these glands and use it against predators.
Maybe this is why Australia does not have any large crocodiles.
Because the canebreak’s toxins are very effective, however, when human beings touch canebreaks, they do not get hurt because their skin is too harsh for the poison to pass through.
Canebreaks also travel in massive groups called “dens”.
They are most commonly found during the rainy season, during which time they jump around along with other amphibians.
Frogs eat by sucking up prey with their long sticky tongues.
Frogs feed by capturing prey with their long sticky tongues.
They will use the tongue to catch insects, and it will be drawn up towards their mouth through water pressure.
Frogs have no teeth, but they will use their ribbed tongue to cut the insect into pieces so that they can swallow it.
The frog will secrete a special enzyme into its mouth, which will help to digest the insect.
Frogs have teeth at the back of their mouths, but they never use them.
They are used for gripping and chewing the food so that it can be swallowed properly.
For example, frogs use their teeth as a way of holding on to the backbones and heads of fish when they eat them.
Frogs also have small projections near the side of their mouths called vomer bones which help them chew food by grinding pieces against one another.
However, most frogs do not bother with chewing because they prefer to swallow their food whole to waste any energy in chewing or too much time deciding what is edible.
A large frog may only eat once a week.
Conclusion
After reading this post, you probably wonder what to do with your newfound knowledge about frogs and toads.
If so, we have some great suggestions for you! For example, if you’re looking for a fun way to teach kids more about these animals, try making a frog or toad craft from paper mache.
You can also use the information in this blog post as trivia at your next gathering of friends or family members.
However, you choose to enjoy our newfound facts on British frogs and toads, be sure not to forget that they’ve been around for over 300 million years!
