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    Frog Facts: 25% of Australia's Frog Species

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    daitkensmith4330
    Frogs have inhabited Earth for over 200 million years and there are over 4000 species worldwide and 200 in Australia alone. Australia's tropical rainforests are home to a quarter of the country's frog species. Some frogs signal to mates through waving instead of calls due to loud streams, and the tadpole of the Northern Barred Frog grows to 16cm, the largest in Australia. The Wood Frog can leap over 2.5 meters in a single bound, nearly as far as a human jumping 200 meters. Frog skins produce chemicals that have led to new medicines for diseases and other medical applications.

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    Frog Facts: 25% of Australia's Frog Species

    Uploaded by

    daitkensmith4330
    36 views1 page
    Frogs have inhabited Earth for over 200 million years and there are over 4000 species worldwide and 200 in Australia alone. Australia's tropical rainforests are home to a quarter of the country's frog species. Some frogs signal to mates through waving instead of calls due to loud streams, and the tadpole of the Northern Barred Frog grows to 16cm, the largest in Australia. The Wood Frog can leap over 2.5 meters in a single bound, nearly as far as a human jumping 200 meters. Frog skins produce chemicals that have led to new medicines for diseases and other medical applications.

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    FROGS AND TOADS

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    Frog facts

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    Frogs have inhabited Earth for over 200 million years and there are over 4000 species worldwide and 200 in Australia alone. Australia's tropical rainforests are home to a quarter of the country's frog species. Some frogs signal to mates through waving instead of calls due to loud streams, and the tadpole of the Northern Barred Frog grows to 16cm, the largest in Australia. The Wood Frog can leap over 2.5 meters in a single bound, nearly as far as a human jumping 200 meters. Frog skins produce chemicals that have led to new medicines for diseases and other medical applications.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    36 views1 page

    Frog Facts: 25% of Australia's Frog Species

    Uploaded by

    daitkensmith4330
    Frogs have inhabited Earth for over 200 million years and there are over 4000 species worldwide and 200 in Australia alone. Australia's tropical rainforests are home to a quarter of the country's frog species. Some frogs signal to mates through waving instead of calls due to loud streams, and the tadpole of the Northern Barred Frog grows to 16cm, the largest in Australia. The Wood Frog can leap over 2.5 meters in a single bound, nearly as far as a human jumping 200 meters. Frog skins produce chemicals that have led to new medicines for diseases and other medical applications.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Frog facts

    • Frogs appeared on Earth about 200 million


    years ago. (We arrived about two million
    years ago.) There are over 4000 species in
    the world and over 200 species in Australia.
    • Australia’s tropical rainforests are home to
    25% of Australia’s frog species.
    • Frogs which live near noisy, fast flowing
    streams can’t always hear mating calls
    above the roar of water. Instead, they signal Northern Barred Frog
    their intentions by waving to prospective
    partners!
    • The tadpole of the Northern Barred Frog (Mixophyes schevilli) is
    the largest in Australia growing up to 16cm long (longer than a pen).
    These tadpoles are important in the forest because they eat and
    recycle large quantities of leaves.
    • The frog with the longest leap in Australia lives in the Wet Tropics.
    The 75mm Wood Frog (Rana daemeli) can cover a distance of
    about 2.5m in a single bound. That’s like a human jumping 200
    metres!
    • Some rainforest tadpoles take over a year
    to change into frogs.
    • All frog eggs laid in open ponds have a
    black patch at the top. This is a filter
    which cuts out the damaging ultraviolet
    rays of the sun which would otherwise
    harm the developing tadpoles.
    • Frogs’ eyes bulge out giving them all-
    round vision. They also help the frog
    swallow. When the frog catches a
    mouthful of food its eyes sink through an Wood Frog
    opening in the skull and force food down its
    throat.
    • Many frogs produce chemicals on their skin which help to protect
    them from bacteria and fungi.
    • Scientists are using frogs to develop medicines for different
    diseases. A chemical compound which comes from the skin of
    Green Tree Frogs is used as a gut stimulant after abdominal
    surgery and also to block schizophrenia symptoms.
    • Other frog compounds contract and expand blood vessels, make
    hearts beat more strongly, help digest food, combat viruses and
    may eventually be used to repel mosquitoes and act as sunscreen.

    These fact sheets are based on the Tropical Topics newsletters edited by Stella Martin
    and produced by the Wet Tropics Management Authority and the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency. Page 1

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