The frogs become very visible and vocal in the rainy season.“It was the first day of the rainy season. Dark clouds returned and spread overhead like a canopy. The thunder sounds like a drum beat, ghar, ghar, ghar”. The rain queen starts dancing and showers rain “chhum, chhum, chhum.”All the grasses and undergrowth start germinating and became alive. The frogs croaked and sang, “katar, katar, katar…tar, tar, tar…the rain falls, tupur, tupur.
Frogs are one of the most interesting creatures in their types and characteristics defying the common perception that frogs are ugly and not so interesting creatures.
Here are a few types:
Horned frogs of South America can eat prey much larger than their own bodies, thanks to the strength of their tongues. When frogs catapult their tongues to catch a creature, the organ's adhesive forces exceed the weight of the animals prey and even the frog's own body. The pulling force ranges from 3 to 6 times the frog's body weight and the frog's tongue can snap back into its mouth within 15/100ths of a second.
Thailand's Mulu flying frog, who uses its webbed feet to glide from tree to tree, feeds on birds. The frog has a bright green skin at night which changes colour to become brown during the day. Its eyes change colour as well.
In the wetlands of Turkey, the Buffaloes carry tiny frogs on their backs. the buffalo riding amphibians - marsh frogs forage on the buffaloes shaggy bodies and heads for flies.
The red-eyed tree frog shakes his rear violently when he sees another male. The other male responds in kind. The victor who gets the girl is the one who shakes longer.
How does an Australian green Tree Frog get water in the desert when there is none? With an inate understanding of science. Frogs move from cool dry night to warm burrows fogging up like a pair of glasses. The droplets condense on their skin. They do this again and again. Their skin absorbs the water and they survive the dry weather.
The male grey tree frog sounds an advertisement call to females, providing females with information about his gender, species, age, health and telling other males to stay away. The female will approach a male whose call she likes. When the male clambers on her back she carries him to a water body to lay her eggs, which the male fertilizes as they are being laid. Throughout this process, they are accompanied by a sly small silent satellite male who tries to get between the pair with the hope of dislodging the chosen male.
Males of Indian dancing frog, found in the Western Ghats tap their hind legs and stretch one foot outward and shake it, both at prospective mates and rival males during the mating season.
The Brazilian torrent frog combines sounds and gestures like squealing, head bobbing and alternate arm waving. Courtship includes this. Male frog pushes off the ground with their arms, to elevate the front parts of their bodies. While sitting they picked their feet up and showed their toes. Some of these displays were for courtship, some were warnings to males Males peeped courtship calls in response to a female's touch.
The Mount Iberia frog from Cuba currently holds the Guinness world record for the smallest frog at 10 mm long. But to make up for its size it is coated with poison.
The common Surinam toad is one of the world's most bizarre amphibians. The animal's flattened shape makes it look like a pancake, and it spends its whole life in water. When the male and female mate, the female releases her eggs and the male catches and fertilizes them. The eggs embed in the spongy tissue of the female's back, which grows over them.
T
he tiny fingernail size Mutable Rain Frog of Equador skips the tadpole stage and develops into a frog directly within its egg. It has a spiny skin texture which can transform into smooth in minutes.
So dear friends these are a few types and there are many more. Are they not one of the most interesting creatures in their types and behaviour? Next time you see one, you will definitely give a second look. If you are not a frog lover at least you may wish that this ugly amphibian turns into a beautiful princess or a handsome prince for you.
