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While walking along the water's edge, I watched as frogs, one after another, jumped into the water and disappeared. I wondered how long a frog could stay underwater, so I sat down and waited. About five minutes later a frog appeared.
Scientists tell us that the frog's ancestors were the first creatures to survive the drying up of the ancient oceans. They survived by crawling out onto the land and in doing this, they developed the ability to breathe through their lungs.
Our word frog comes from the days of King Arthur. The small men of the forest were called frogga, which was later changed to frogge. It came from the Germanic word fruskaz. It is a derogatory word, which was used for a French person, going back to the late 18th century and was presumably inspired by the proverbial French appetite for the animal's legs. However, the word frog used as a general term of abuse can be traced back to the 14th century and in the 17th century, it was used for a Dutch person.
There are over 3,000 frogs identified with new ones continuing to turn up from time to time. When looking at a frog, the first thing you will notice is a pair of large eyes on top of the head. These eyes enable the frog to stay underwater and still be able to see above the surface. When the frog dives in the water a pair of diving goggles (a clear inner eyelid) comes up from the bottom of the frog's eyes, closing over the eyes to protect them. The placement of the eyes allows the frog to see in almost a complete circle without turning its head.
Just like the toad, a frog does not hunt for food but picks a spot and waits for the food to come by. When an insect gets close enough, the frog flicks out its long, sticky tongue and then pops the insect back into its mouth. The frog's tongue is fastened at the front of the lower jaw, which enables the tongue to stick out rather far.
Frogs swallow their meals whole, and although they do have a row of tiny teeth on their upper jaw, these teeth serve merely as grippers to be sure dinner doesn't escape.
Unlike a human, a frog can talk without opening its mouth. The frog takes air in through its nostrils and then to the lungs, where the air is forced out of the lungs and into an air sac, filling the sac like a bubble. The air is then forced out of the bubble, over the vocal cords and back into the lungs. It's the air passing over the vocal cords on the return trip that creates the frog's voice.
Frogs talk most often during the mating season, but they also call to warn other frogs of approaching danger. Naturalists have found that frogs call before an approaching storm. A terrified frog's scream sounds similar to a baby's cry. When one frog gives a fear call, the other frogs will instantly become silent.
Frogs do not drink with their mouths but take all the moisture needed in through their skin. For this reason, the frog must remain close to water throughout its life. Most frogs have no defense against predators, however, in the tropics, there are some frogs that give off a foul-smelling and bad-tasting fluid from their bodies. In some cases, this fluid can kill a small animal or stun a larger one.
These frogs are brightly colored and are the exception. Some frogs puff up their bodies to discourage their enemies. At times, a frog will sit perfectly still, hoping to go unnoticed, however, most of the time the frog jumps into the water, relying on its ability to swim away quickly and hide.
The bullfrog is the largest frog in the United States. Its colors range from green to brown, sometimes mottled and sometimes plain. The best identification is the call of the male, which is the familiar jug-a-rum.
Mating for the bullfrogs takes place from April through July, depending on the latitude. The female deposits thousands of eggs, surrounded by a gelatinous envelope, which can be found floating on the surface of the water. The tadpoles that emerge from the eggs can take as long as two years before transforming into adult frogs. Bullfrogs are solitary creatures and do not engage in chorus singing even during the breeding season. The mating season is probably the only time the bullfrog socializes.
A bullfrog will aggressively guard its territory and fight to keep other bullfrogs away. Although it is our largest frog, it is not our longest jumper. That record goes to the leopard frog by as much as ten inches. The legs of the bullfrog are very good to eat. So much so, that at one time the Pennsylvania Fish Commission raised and stocked bullfrogs throughout the state. In Pennsylvania, the taking of bullfrogs is regulated by season and bag limits are set by the Fish and Boat Commission.
As with most animals, there have been many children's stories written about frogs. An Aesop Fable goes like this
"Hares, as you know, are very timid. The least shadow sends them scurrying in fright to a hiding place. Once they decided to die rather than live in such misery. But while they were debating how best to meet death, they thought they heard a noise and in a flash were scampering off to the warren.
"On the way, they passed a pond where a family of frogs was sitting among the reeds on the bank. In an instant, the startled frogs were seeking safety in the mud. "Look,' cried a hare, 'Things are not so bad after all, for here are creatures who are even afraid of us!'"
The moral? However unfortunate we may think we are, there is always someone worse off than ourselves.
Today, scientists are studying frogs and using them as a barometer for determining if pollutants are in our environment.
Bill Bower is a retired Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Officer. Read his blog and listen to his podcasts on the outdoors at www.onemaningreen.com.