Why are there so many species of frog?

“If we lost all the species that there are around us we may not survive. The frogs within these forests, like the bush frog, could then have diversified into a different species, having been cut off from a larger population.

What causes frog mutations?

Frog malformations are the result of environmental factors affecting development during early tadpole stages. Consequently, their bodies are much more sensitive to environmental factors such as disease, pollution, toxic chemicals, ultraviolet radiation, and habitat destruction.

How did frogs evolve?

The huge diversity of frogs we see today is mainly a consequence of the asteroid strike that killed off the dinosaurs, a study suggests. A new analysis shows that frog populations exploded after the extinction event 66 million years ago.

What three environmental factors can cause frog malformations?

Many factors have the potential to cause deformities in frogs, including chemical pollution (e.g., pesticides), heavy metals (e.g., mercury), non-native predators (e.g., fish and crayfish), and parasitic infections.

Why are frogs said to be amphibians?

The frogs have dual adaptation in land and aquatic environments. So they are called amphibians.

Which frog species actually exists?

Dyscophus antongilii, the Madagascar tomato frog, is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae.

Do frogs with extra legs exist?

This invasive process can cause the frog to develop as many as six additional legs—or in some cases, no legs at all. That said, experts don’t think that infected frogs develop weird limbs simply as a side effect.

What has caused large numbers of deformed frogs in Minnesota and Connecticut?

Chemicals. Human-made chemicals often are suspected as the cause for frog malformation in Minnesota.

Where did frogs originate from?

Ichthyostega, prehistoric predecessor to the modern frog, lived 370 million years ago during the Devonian Period. Sometimes referred to as “the first four-legged fish,” skeletal remains of this earliest-known amphibian were first discovered in East Greenland. [Click for a larger image.]

Did frogs exist with dinosaurs?

Now, lumps of amber dating back to the Cretaceous period have revealed a set of four tiny tropical frogs that lived alongside the dinosaurs, making them the oldest frog fossils of their kind.

Do frogs mutate?

The researchers’ surprising discovery was that unrelated species of frogs in the north and the south of the province show mutations of the MC1R gene in the same DNA region, explaining why the frogs share similar black patterns even if they are not close relatives and live hundreds of kilometers apart.

Why are frogs sensitive to environmental pollution?

Frogs are very sensitive to pollution around them. Things that can hurt frogs include fertilizers, weed killers, pesticides, and detergents. This is because they breathe and absorb water through their skin. The chemicals can easily enter their bodies through the skin.