ajb{log}

Yeah I know this is not a tech post. But hey! Come on, it only happens every 4 years. Give me a break. Besides, it’s Friday.

It’s not the year of the frog but it’s leap day. You know, frog, leap? :)

(From avmaier’s photos at Flickr)

Ok, now time for some frog facts:

• Frogs can live equally well in water or on land (I think I can do that)
• A frog can change the color of its skin depending on its surroundings (Wish I can do that)
• Frogs range in size from 1cm to 30cm long (Ungh, I don’t want that)
• The eggs of the marsupial frog are laid in a brood pouch on the mothers back and the young hatch out in a zipper like fashion from the pouch
• Amphibians must shed their skin as they enlarge in size. The old skin is discarded like a piece of clothing that has become too tight. Usually the shed skin is eaten (Women are like that)
• Frogs absorb water through their skin so they don’t need to drink (Can frogs live in the desert then?)
• Under the water, a frog’s eyes are protected by an extra transparent eye lid called a nictitating membrane (Ah, just like goggles)
• Tree frogs have developed disks or adhesive pads on the toes of their feet to help hem climb into the tree canopy (Spiderman?)
• Frogs have long back legs and webbed feet for jumping and swimming (Some models does too! Long back legs that is.)
• The earliest known frog fossils to date were found in Arizona and are believed to be from the late Jurassic period, about 190 million years ago (Yeah I saw that movie too)
• In Japan frogs are symbols of good luck (Do they bring one on their pockets?)
• Native American and Australian aborigines believed frogs brought rain (In the desert?)
• In India frogs personified thunder
• In China it wasn’t the Man in the Moon but the Frog in the Moon. In a lunar eclipse the frog swallowed the moon (Yeah, right)
• In ancient Egypt, frogs were symbols of resurrection and were even mummified with the dead (Can we see one?)
• There are over 4000 species of frogs and on every continent except Antarctica (I don’t see one here in Winnipeg!)
• All toads are frogs but not all frogs are toads (How come?)
• You cannot get warts from toads (Really? Maybe that’s why some teenagers lick toads in California)
• The largest of all frogs can weigh up to 10 lbs. and be 26 in. long! The African Giant (I need to see one)
• The smallest frog is less than 1/2 in. from Cuba
• Poison dart frogs are usually brightly colored to show predators they are deadly (Some party goers does that too!)
• The red-eyed tree frog lays its eggs on branches over water so the tadpoles can drop right in
• There are over 60 species of poison dart frogs
• Some frogs can jump 20 times their own body length (Spiderman does that too)
• Female frogs are usually larger then the males (Whoa, I like that *grin*)
• Tadpoles survive mainly on algae
• Tadpoles breathe through gills while adult frogs breath through crude lungs and also absorb oxygen through their skin
• The paradoxical frog of South America has tadpoles up to 10 in. long while the mature adults seldom get over 3in. They get smaller as they age
• In most species of frogs only the male croaks. Attracting a female during mating season and letting other males know there’s a new frog in town (Most humans does that too!)
• The Bull Frog is the largest frog native to North America. It can grow to 18 in. and weigh 1.2 lbs
• After you have read all these frog facts you could be considered a herpetologist.

What’s a Herpetologist? One who study reptiles and amphibians. Like frogs.

Have a good weekend!

–aj

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