What do frogs eat?

Let's try to guess by the appearance and structure of the frog what these amphibians eat. She has a flat head and back, and her eyes protrude above the water surface, like two bubbles of liquid, without betraying the presence of an animal. The hind legs are strong, like a spring, and the front ones are grasping, arranged like a palm. By touch, it is revealed that the amphibian's jaws are seated with small sharp teeth facing inward. A long sticky tongue is hidden in the wide mouth. Comparing all these signs, we can conclude that the frogs eat small animals.

Habitat

The family of real frogs (Ranidae) is part of the order of tailless amphibians. It is numerous: 32 genera and more than 400 species, the vast majority of which are inhabitants of the humid tropical jungle. The largest of the tailless amphibians, the three-kilogram goliath frog (Rana goliaph), lives in Africa, on the coast of the Republic of Cameroon. The smallest one (pictured below), recently discovered in New Guinea, Paedophryne amauensis, will fit on a pinky nail. Most frogs are patronizing in color, but the outfit can be very bright, especially in the poisonous tropical species.

The smallest frog in the world

All amphibians are firmly attached to water, as drying out of the skin means death for them. They breathe not so much with their lungs as with their skin, and their larvae, tadpoles, have gills. The warm and humid atmosphere allows them to go far from their native reservoir and return there only during the mating season. In our latitudes, the so-called brown frogs act in a similar way: grass, Siberian, sharp-muzzle and others.

Winter suspended animation

Water bodies of the temperate zone have mastered several species of frogs. The largest of them, the marsh frog (Rana ridibunda), reaches 17 cm in length. A feature of our frogs is their ability to hibernate. They spend more than five months a year in a daze under stones and snags, sitting in rotten stumps or buried in silt at the bottom of lakes. During hibernation, frogs do not use pulmonary respiration, assimilating oxygen through the entire surface of the skin. But during the thaw, the amphibian "thaws" and can even swallow some insect that has settled down to winter nearby.

Frog hunting

More than half of the marsh frog's diet is occupied by terrestrial insects, of which about 25% are flying forms. The frog is indiscriminate in food: it eats what is most available at the moment. After examining the stomachs of 230 grass frogs, scientists counted 87 food components there, of which beetles are in the first place. Then there are Orthoptera, Hymenoptera, Diptera and others, including spiders, wood lice, bugs and molluscs.

The long sticky tongue is the main trapping organ of the frog. Having sneaked up, the amphibian forcefully throws out its tongue, which sticks to the victim and carries it down the throat. But it is impossible to see the process with the naked eye: the entire flight to the target and return with prey takes hundredths of a second. You can only follow the frog hunt using slow motion.

It should be noted that not all amphibians use language like a lasso. Some people prefer to rely on the swiftness of the throw. The nimble frog (Rana dalmatina) inhabiting Europe hunts mainly flying insects, which it catches up in a jump. This small amphibian is capable of taking off more than a meter in height, and leaves the pursuer in three-meter jumps.

Most frogs are fluent in the art of camouflage. They do not need to scour the grassy jungle, as the careless "game" itself goes to the catcher. The lake frog ambushes under the leaves of aquatic plants. Sometimes she comes across a very unusual trophy - a bird. As a rule, these are fledglings of small passerines, which are not very good at wielding their wings.

Fish fry at an early age are tasty prey for the marsh frog. It can cause considerable damage to fish farms by eating valuable juveniles. The frog hides in shallow water and waits for a flock of fry to swim up to its very nose. The amphibian sharply opens its mouth - and several fish are involved in the stream of water at once. Instead of fry, tadpoles, even of its own kind, can swim up - they will face the same fate. However, by picking up weak, sick and injured fish, the frog acts as a water orderly.

Bats, lizards, juvenile snakes, shrews and other small vertebrates were found in the stomachs of marsh frogs. Young toads and frogs of other species were often found there. Amphibians have a powerful digestion - due to the lack of claws and fangs, they have to swallow victims whole, as snakes do.

Among tropical species, there are frogs specializing in toads (Rana aesopus) or crabs (Rana ridibunda). And Rana occipitalis has chosen such an unsafe prey as tarantulas. But if these same frogs are relocated to an area replete with a different food base, then the old addictions will be immediately forgotten.

The table clearly shows that most frogs can be called "animal-eating" - they feed on both vertebrates and invertebrates, without giving preference to any particular species. Most likely, insectivorous frogs do not prey on something larger just because their growth does not allow it.

Plant residues in the stomachs of frogs are also present, but this does not mean vegetarian inclinations: when a frog catches an insect, a part of the leaf or flower on which this insect was sitting is glued to its tongue. The frog quickly swallows everything and, without wasting time, goes for a new portion. Her stomach is able to digest everything: both hard chitin and plant fiber, even bones and feathers disappear without a trace.