There are over 4,800 different species of frogs that can be found all over the world. The different habitats these frogs live in have given rise to the strange looking species that we can find today. This list features ten of the most interesting and unusual frogs that are known to science today.

10. Brazilian Horned Frog

This amazing frog lives in the Amazon rainforest in South America. The Brazilian slingshot, Ceratophrys aurita, has a distinctive appearance compared to other amphibians. Evolution did a good job of camouflaging this creature, making it look like a leaf so that the frog can blend in with its surroundings.

The frog can grow to a large size, and reach twenty centimeters in length. She buries herself in the leaves so that only her head is visible, and when someone from her menu passes by, she quickly grabs and eats him. It is a very aggressive animal and locals often wear high leather boots to protect their feet from powerful bites. Despite their aggressive nature, some people keep these frogs as pets.

9. Helen's Flying Frog


This newly discovered frog was first recorded in January this year, so there is almost no information about it. However, it is known that this frog can fly using its huge webbed feet. The frog glides along the forest canopy of South Vietnam, hiding from predators. Females have patches of skin on their legs that look like a kind of wings that help them in flight. Their large paws help them attach to tree branches after their flight is over. Elena's flying frog - Rhacophorus helenae is quite large in size, sometimes reaching ten centimeters in length.

It was discovered by an Australian scientist in Vietnam, near Saigon. The scientist named the frog after his mother. Biologists were perplexed that such a large frog, living so close to Saigon, went unnoticed for so long.

8. Harlequin Toad


Atelope varius - Atelopus varius - is endemic to Costa Rica and over the past few years, due to the spread of the fungus and climate change, the population of this frog species has rapidly declined. At the moment, there is only one isolated population left. This species is now dangerously close to extinction.

7. Goliath Frog

The goliath frog - Conraua goliath is the largest frog in the world. It can grow up to thirty-three centimeters in length, and its weight can reach three kilograms. The goliath frog is twice the size of the giant African Bullfrog.

The creature is endemic to West Africa. It feeds on crabs, small snakes, and even other frogs. The Goliath frog does not make any sounds due to the lack of vocal glands. She has huge, powerful legs that allow her to jump long distances, up to three meters. Unfortunately, like many other frog species, the goliath frog is vulnerable to human activities such as hunting, deforestation, and animal trading. These factors have already made this species of frog an endangered species.

6. Ovoviviparous Toad (Morogoro Tree Toad)


Endemic to the rainforests and meadows of Tanzania, the ovoviviparous toad, Nectophrynoides Viviparus, has large glands on its body located near the eyes and limbs. These glands come in a variety of colors, including orange, gray, green, red, and white. The color of the gland usually contrasts with the rest of the frog's skin.

The eggs hatch while still inside the female and are born as small but fully formed toads. This type of pregnancy is quite rare in amphibians.

5. Pebble Toad (Venezuela Pebble Toad)

The pebble toad usually lives in mountainous areas with many steep slopes. In case of danger, such as a tarantula (one of the main predators hunting this species of toad), it hides its head and limbs under its body, and then strains its muscles. Thus, it forms a ball, and then rolls down the nearest hill into a puddle or crevice at its foot.

The pebble toad does not suffer any damage from rolling and bouncing because it is very light and its muscles are very strong. The frog uses this defense mechanism because it is much faster for it to slide down than to jump, and it cannot jump long distances.

4. Deerless copepod or Vietnamese Mossy Frog

Lisu copepod - Theloderma corticale, lives in the rainforests and swamps of northern Vietnam. The frog got this name because of its distinctive camouflage shape, which is similar to moss and lichen. When predators approach, the frog hides its paws under itself, so that only mossy parts of its body are visible. This frog has large pads on its legs that help it to stay in the trees, and its diet consists entirely of insects. Frogs lay their eggs on the walls of caves, and the tadpoles fall into the water below, where they spend the rest of their lives. The fossil copepod is a popular pet in Asia.

3. Turtle Frog


The turtle frog, Myobatrachus gouldii, is native to the semi-arid regions of Western Australia. She has a very unusual appearance - she looks like a tortoise without a shell, with a round pink-brown body, a small head and short limbs. Their limbs are short and muscular, which allows them to dig in the sand and break up termite mounds, which are the frog's main food source.

The turtle frog does not go through the tadpole stage, but instead grows into a fully formed small frog while still inside the egg. Therefore, the eggs of the turtle frog are the largest among the eggs of all frogs in Australia, their size reaches 5 to 7 millimeters in length.

2. Glass Frog

The unusual looking glass frog, Centrolenidae, is endemic to the Amazon basin.

The main body part of these frogs is green, but there is transparent skin on the lower part of their body. This allows their liver, heart and intestines to be clearly seen. In pregnant females, one can even see frog eggs located inside. It is believed that the frog's transparent skin serves as protection and allows the light reflected from the leaves to shine through it. This makes it much less noticeable to predators. They live in trees in humid mountainous regions and lay their eggs on leaves. Then the tadpoles fall down into the water and continue to grow to adulthood.

1. Surinam Toad


The first place in this list is occupied by the Surinamese pipa - Pipa pipa. Like many other frogs, it lives in the Amazon rainforest. It is a large frog that can grow up to twenty centimeters in length. Compared to other species, this frog has a very flat body and tiny eyes. These frogs are usually dirty brown in color and have no tongue or teeth. When looking for a mate, the Surinamese pipa does not croak like normal frogs, but instead emits piercing clicking sounds with the help of the blows of two bones located in the throat.

Even stranger are the spawning and reproductive methods of the pipa. The male attaches to the female in the reservoir, forming an amplexus, a peculiar form of pseudocopulation. Then the couple jumps out of the water several times. After each jump, the female secretes several eggs, which are implanted on her back through the skin. These eggs then burrow deeper into the body and within these pockets develop into fully formed pip. Then, during childbirth, they break out of the female's skin.

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Purple Frog


The purple frog - Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis, is a unique frog species and the only member of the Nasikabatrachidae family that lives in the mountains of southern India. The frog has smooth, purple skin and a large, round body with squat limbs. The head of this frog is small, and the nose looks like a pig's patch. The purple frog spends most of its life underground and crawls out of its tunnel for only two weeks each year. This species has evolved independently for 130 million years, and its closest living relatives today are the Seychelles frogs (Sooglossidae frogs) in the Seychelles.

24.04.2012 - 16:53

What miracles do not exist in nature! Frogs are one of the most amazing creatures on our planet. Don't believe me? Then see for yourself the giant frogs, baby frogs, golden frogs and other most unusual and wonderful representatives of the "frog" fauna ...

Tree frogs, toads and frogs

To begin with, so as not to get confused, let's quickly figure out how frogs differ from toads, and those, in turn, from tree frogs. So frogs. They prefer to live in bodies of water (or in the immediate vicinity of water), have teeth on the upper jaw and swimming membranes on their hind legs. Frogs also have rather smooth skin.

Toads have no teeth, the skin is rather uneven and drier and darker than that of frogs. Toads live on land, but they are not particularly eager to climb into the water, and only during the breeding season.

Tree frogs are the smallest family of amphibians. In tree frogs, fingers end in discs that allow them to climb trees, which neither frogs nor toads really can do. Having climbed higher, the tree frog, if suddenly the need arises, can easily glide to a nearby tree or back to the ground.

Meeting with the goliath

Different types of frogs (we will call them all frogs for convenience) amaze us with the richness of shapes, colors and sizes. Aren't you amazed? This is because you have never met, for example, a goliath frog. Imagine that you are walking through the swamps of Equatorial Guinea, approaching a small waterfall, and suddenly something from the bushes will jump straight into the water with an eerie roar and a cloud of spray!

Something - about a meter in length (including legs) and weighing about three kilograms. Zoologists will tell you about the weight and length later, and the first impression (and for the faint of heart and the last) will be as if you scared off a slimy, disgusting dinosaur.

In fact, the goliath frog is only dangerous for people with a weak heart. She does not know how to bite, she is afraid of people (because the natives perceive her as a delicacy), and not only people. It hunts mainly insects, and spends most of the time sitting on beaches and coastal rocks, ready to dive into the depths at any hint of danger. Hiding under water, the goliath emerges in 10-15 minutes, but not entirely, but for a start exposes only the tip of the nose and eyes. After making sure that the beach is free, the goliath completely crawls onto the shore and again takes up a position on his favorite pebble.

Panama Gold

Did not impress? Are you a man with iron nerves, and you can't scare you with some kind of (albeit very large) toads? Okay. Then let's move to Panama and get acquainted with one of the symbols of this country - the Panamanian golden frog.

The Panamanian frog is small and very beautiful - its skin is bright and juicy yellow. There is a belief that this amphibian, after its (necessarily natural) death, turns into gold. That is why in central America, before the arrival of the conquistadors, there was so much gold and products made from it. They say that the first colonists, after listening to Indian tales about frogs, drove poor amphibians into special pens, and left them there to die, expecting that they would turn into precious ingots.

If you come across a golden frog, you can watch its life (rather undersaturated), make a wish or honor the memory of the Indians, and along with the first settlers. You can listen to male golden frogs that are capable of making sounds that travel for several kilometers. Surely you will be attracted by the "sign language" of these amphibians. The fact is that golden frogs live near noisy waterfalls, and therefore they communicate with each other mainly not with sounds, but with gestures - they raise their right or left paws, wave them rather amusingly, turn their heads and so on.

All of this you can do. Except for one thing - do not try to take a golden frog in your hands. The Panamanian golden frog is one of the most poisonous creatures of nature, and its poison is contained directly on the skin. Moreover, the younger the individual, the more deadly the poison, which helps the adolescent frogs to survive in this world.

Amphibian princess

If you really want to cuddle a poor amphibian, or even take him home to keep in an aquarium, leave the golden frog alone and get a real "princess" - a red-eyed tree frog that also lives in South America.

Photos of this funny creature can be found everywhere, which is not surprising. The red-eyed frog is slender, with smooth skin and sucker paws, very cute, defenseless, safe and makes an unforgettable impression even on the most avid frog-phobia. Its main color is green, on the sides and at the base of the paws it is blue with a yellow pattern, toes are orange. The abdomen is white or creamy. The eyes, as we understand it, are red. Some individuals have small white spots on the back.

It's funny that young Panamanian tree frogs can change their color: in the daytime they are green, and at night they turn crimson or reddish-brown.

A sample of minimalism

We talked about the largest, most poisonous and most beautiful frogs. The next step is the smallest tree frog to date.

This baby, whose name - Paedophryne amauensis - is much longer than herself, a group of scientists from Louisiana State University discovered in the forests of Papua New Guinea just recently - in December last year.

The body length of a micro-frog is only 8-9 mm. And the coloring is such that it is almost impossible to notice it on the ground. It's even surprising that they found her at all ...

Unkempt croak

Gerald Durrell wrote: “I was looking for a hairy frog in the lowland forests of Cameroon, but all the hunters there unanimously insisted that this does not happen in the world. I stood my ground, and they looked at me with pity - that's, they say, another proof of the incomprehensible stupidity of a white man, because even small children know that frogs do not have hair! " And it was in vain that African hunters laughed at the famous zoologist. Hairy frogs do exist, and Darrell eventually managed to get them for his zoo!

So what kind of miracle is a hairy frog? This is a rather large amphibian with a wide and flat head, eyes bulging in endless surprise and a huge, greedy mouth. The color of the body on top is dark chocolate, the belly is white. Well, and the main difference between a hairy frog and ordinary marsh tree frogs is actually the hair sticking out from the sides and on the hips.

That is, of course, this is not the kind of hair that grows on our head, but something like thick, matted algae. Only males have such decoration. No hairy females have been observed in nature.

At first, scientists were extremely amazed. They even decided that hairy females simply have to be, it's just hard to find them. But later, when it became clear why the hairy frog actually needed her hair, the question of gender inequality disappeared by itself.

It turned out that frogs ... breathe with these "hairs" when they sit under water for a long time. It is just a kind of gills, as an addition to the lungs. And only males have hair and only for the period when they are forced to sit in their pond practically without getting out and guard the clutch with eggs. But females do not need gills at all, they breathe only with the lungs.

And all because, firstly, they are not engaged in the protection of underwater masonry, and secondly, they rarely crawl into ponds and puddles, preferring land. It is interesting that Mother Nature, unlimited in her imagination, awarded this amazing frog not only with thick and lush hair, but also ... with huge claws, which, like cat's "fishhooks", hide in special bags on their fingers.

If the predator manages to grab the frog, then it releases its claws and begins waving its paws until the discouraged and scratched enemy spits out this seemingly harmless, but it turns out, such a bloodthirsty creature.

Pipa americana

Everyone who has read M. Bulgakov's novel "Fatal Eggs" knows about this frog (or rather, a toad). After all, it was about her death that Professor Persikov grieved most of all. Pipa is a unique toad. First of all, it looks like it was driven by an asphalt paver. This helps the American pretend to be "lifeless" and avoid contact with predators.

These amazing amphibians are found only on the South American continent: in Brazil, Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname. Pips prefer to spend most of their lives in water. The mating cry of male pipa resembles the ticking of a small clock. Obeying the inviting ticking, the female stumbles upon her half and the process of throwing eggs begins, unlike any that exists in the world.

Noblell the frog

The smallest frog was found, oddly enough, high in the mountains. Namely, in the southern part of Peru, in the Andes mountains. The new species of animals was named Noblella (Noblella pygmaeа). It turned out to be very difficult to see the smallest amphibian, since its size is very miniature, the adult individual reaches only 10-13 millimeters in length. Females of these amphibians reach slightly larger sizes than males: the former grow to 12.5 millimeters, and the latter only 11.

In the thickets of Peru

This small frog, the size of a tiny coin, also has a camouflage brown color, therefore, it is almost impossible to notice it in the thickets of Peru.

The Noblels live in dense tropical evergreen forests and meadows located high in the mountains, at an altitude of about 3000-3200 meters above sea level.

Caring for offspring

The smallest frog in the world, it has several differences from other amphibians. One of them is that the frog lays only 2 eggs (eggs). Each of which is 1/3 the size of the frog itself. Lays eggs in something wet, it can be fallen leaves, moss, grass.

The amphibian grabs 2 eggs and cares for them until they mature and hatch. Newborn animals do not have the same developmental stage as the tadpole; they are immediately in the adult stage.

Uncharted territories

Noblels live in the same territory all their lives, not leaving it even during the breeding season. This is very unusual for other frogs. Their small size allows them to take their place in the dispersal of animals throughout the territory, without interfering with the larger inhabitants.

Scientists believe that with further search and study of unexplored territories in the region of South America, even smaller creatures can be found.

The frog (Rana) is a representative of the class of amphibians belonging to the order of tailless, the family of real frogs.

Description of the frog

All representatives of frogs do not have a pronounced neck, their head seems to have grown together with a wide and short body. The absence of a tail is reflected in the very name of the order to which these amphibians belong. On the sides of a large and flat head are protruding eyes. Like all terrestrial vertebrates, frogs have upper and lower eyelids. Under the lower eyelid, you can find the blinking membrane, the so-called third eyelid.

Behind each frog's eye there is a place covered with a thin skin (eardrum). Two nostrils, which have special valves, are located just above the huge mouth with small teeth.

The frog's front legs, equipped with four toes characteristic of all amphibians, are rather short. The hind legs are strongly developed and have five toes. The space between them is covered with a leathery membrane, the fingers of the extremities do not have claws.

The only outlet located at the back of the torso is the cloacal opening. The frog's body is covered with bare skin, thickly smeared with mucus, which is secreted by special subcutaneous glands.

The sizes of the frog range from 8 mm to 32 cm, and the coloring can be either one-color (brown, yellow, green) or variegated.

Frog species

All the variety of these amphibians is represented by subfamilies:

  • toad frogs;
  • shield-toed frogs;
  • African wood frogs;
  • real frogs;
  • dwarf frogs;
  • discopal frogs.

In general, there are more than 500 species of frogs in the world. On the territory of the Russian Federation, the most common are pond and grass frogs. The largest frog in the world reaches a length of 32 cm - this is the goliath frog. The smallest frog in the world is a leaf frog, 2 cm in size. In general, all types of frogs are striking in their variety in size and color.

Where does the frog live?

The distribution area of ​​frogs is huge. Due to the fact that representatives of this species are cold-blooded, it does not include areas with a critical climate. You will not find a frog in the sandy deserts of Africa, on the ice fields of Taimyr, Greenland and Antarctica. Some of New Zealand's islands were once not part of the area where frogs were common, but now there are separate populations of these animals. The distribution of some species of frogs can be limited by both natural causes (mountain ranges, rivers, deserts, etc.) and man-made (highways, canals). In the tropics, the diversity of species is much greater than in areas with temperate or cold climates. There are certain types of frogs that are quite capable of living in salt water or even in the Arctic Circle.

What does the frog eat?

The frogs' diet consists of small insects (flies, mosquitoes, dragonflies, etc.). However, on occasion, they do not disdain a small and weak relative. To provide themselves with food, these amphibians use a forked and sticky tongue, which is attached to the front of the jaws. In the mouth, the tongue of the frog is in a free state, and, if necessary, "shoots" towards the food, grabs it and instantly returns back. In some species, such a tongue is absent and the caught food has to be pushed into the mouth, helping the front limbs.

Breeding frogs

Frogs reproduce with the help of external fertilization of the eggs laid by the female. There are species that lay more than 20,000 eggs into the water in one throw. 10 days after fertilization, tadpoles are born, which breathe with gills. As they develop, their tail disappears and paws grow. After four months, small frogs are born. Three years later, they become sexually mature individuals, fully ready to reproduce offspring and continue the "frog genus".

  • The frogs' vision is unique - they can look up, forward and sideways at the same time.
  • Frogs do not close their eyes for a long time - even during sleep.
  • The skin of frogs has antibacterial properties that our ancestors used. They threw frogs into the milk to keep it from sour.
  • In Japan, a frog is a symbol of good luck.

This is an ordinary inhabitant of the pond and it seems that there is nothing surprising in it. However, this is one of the most amazing representatives of the animal world. Let's find out in more detail about the most unusual types of frogs in the world.

Transparent or glass frog

The length of this small strange frog, found in the Mexican state of Chiapas, is only 2 cm. Through the colorless skin of the abdomen, all the insides are clearly visible, which is why it is also called glass. This species of amphibians hunts at night, eating small insects. A transparent frog lays eggs on the leaves of shrubs hanging over the water so that the hatched tadpoles can immediately get into their native element.

Coco Poisonous Frog

Another miniature amphibian native to the jungle of Colombia. Another name for this frog, aptly describing both the appearance and the way of life, is the spotted poison dart frog. This strange frog has earned a bad reputation for its unusually toxic poison, which is several thousand times stronger than the poison of one of the most dangerous snakes - the rattlesnake. Until now, scientists have been unsuccessfully trying to find an antidote to it. Poison is produced in the frog's skin, in special glands, and is released when touched. The organism of only one frog is capable of producing an amount of poison that can kill one and a half thousand people. Well what can I say, be careful in the jungle of Colombia!

Hairy frog

This unusual species of frog was discovered in Gabon, Central Africa, at the beginning of the twentieth century. The peculiar hair on the back in males is a continuation of the skin, blood circulation occurs in them, and nerve endings are also located. It is believed that these conditional hairs are the peculiar respiratory organs of the male frog, and by increasing the surface of the body, they contribute to an increase in metabolism.

Goliath frog

A fairly rare species of amphibians that lives in West Africa. The long body of the frog reaches 30 cm, and the weight is incomprehensible 3.5 kg. The largest specimen caught in Angola was 40 cm long. This giant among tailless amphibians loves clean, flowing water saturated with oxygen. The diet of the goliath consists of small frogs, tadpoles, mice and lizards. Locals, in turn, are happy to hunt this amazing frog, which threatens the safety of the species.

Bull frog

Found in North America, this large frog species, although smaller than the African goliath frog in size, loudly declares itself in a different way. In the spring, bullfrogs emit a deafening croak, more reminiscent of the moo of a herd of cows. The roar of a frog alone can be heard from a distance of 3 kilometers. However, unlike real bulls, the bullfrog is not a vegetarian at all: it feeds on mollusks, insects, as well as chicks and small fish.

Sharp-nosed tree frog

The unusual nose of this frog species found in New Guinea gives it a funny look. But this is not just a whim. This night hunter is forced to hide in crevices during the day, leaving only her thin, curved, hard nose on the surface. Pulling a frog out of shelter for him is beyond the power of not only small predators, but even a person.

Flying frog

This little frog has set the record for long jump, which is more like flying. Found in the humid tropics of Southeast Asia, it can jump as much as 12 meters. This is a huge distance when you consider that the size of the frog itself is 10-12 centimeters. The reason for this jumping ability lies in the wide, dark orange membranes between the toes on the frog's legs, the flat body and the ability to plan.

Many unusual discoveries have been made by researchers of frogs, and just not indifferent naturalists. But these amazing animals still keep many secrets. Waiting for new finds, with respect and love, we will look at our planetary neighbor - such an ordinary and at the same time extraordinary frog.