20 Awesome Frog Facts

Frogs are fascinating creatures! And like birds in the sky, frogs tend to be present wherever there is freshwater. But while a frog’s world can seem trivial, these unique creatures can be quite surprising.

Frogs do not just live in ponds and swamps, toads cannot give you warts, and frogs can jump really far! Here are 20 awesome frog facts that you might not know with more information on each of them.

1. Frogs Live in Many Habitats

Frogs can live on lakes, ponds, bogs, marshes, creeks, streams, in forests, trees, mountains, and even in the desert. Frogs can be found all over the world except on some remote islands and on the most extreme poles of the planet.

Frogs live in a wide variety of habitats and need water to breathe through their skin and generally to survive.

Many frogs tend to avoid the sun during the day because their skin would dehydrate quickly and so they may burrow during the day to stay moist underground and eat at night while their main predators are less active.

2. There Are Over 7,500 Frog Species

According to AmphibiaWeb.Org, there are over 7,500 frog species that make up 88% of Amphibians, and more frogs are being discovered each year.

Over 50 previously undocumented Amphibians were recorded in 2021 alone.

With so many frog species on the planet, you can imagine there is a lot of variation in size, appearance, and dexterity. You can learn about different species of frogs on our blog. 

3. Some Frogs Can Climb

Tree Frogs are excellent at climbing. Arboreal frogs, or frogs that live in trees, are generally small in size and have padded toes that allow them to climb and easily stick to trees and leaves. 

Examples of Tree Frogs include Spring Peepers, Australian Green Tree Frogs, Red-Eyed Tree Frogs, and Gray Tree Frogs. Contrary to Tree Frogs, Toads are not good at climbing with their short hind legs and stubby bodies. However, they are excellent at digging. 

4. Frogs Come in 7 Different Main Colors

As a general rule, frogs are different shades of 7 main colors including green, brown, grey, blue, yellow, red, and black. Poison frogs are the most colorful species, and toads are generally brown with warts.

With thousands of frog species comes a wide variety of different colors. Frogs are generally the same color as their environment in order to camouflage and avoid predators. Bright primary colored frogs are generally poisonous and use their color as a self-defense mechanism.

Find out if pink, purple, and rainbow frogs exist in this article on our blog

5. Croaking Can Be a Mating Call

Frogs croak during mating season to attract mates of the same species but opposite gender. Each frog species has distinct calls including trills, chirps, screams, barks, grunts, peeps, beeps, clucks, croaks, quacks, whistles, bellows, and hoots and their choice of sound depends on their intent. 

For example, frogs make sounds to attract a mate, defend their territory, or fend off a predator. And frogs can be very loud singers. The croaking you hear at night can actually be from a frog up to a mile away from you.

6. Frogs Are Predators (And Prey)

Frogs eat bugs, mice, shrimp, fish, small birds and smaller frogs. Frogs can be ferocious predators that sit and wait for their prey, or hunt it down. 

As a general rule, if the prey is moving, is large enough for the frog to see, but small enough to fit into its mouth, a frog will eat it. If you have a pet frog and wave your finger near them they may even try to bite you (don’t do that of course, it can really hurt).

7. Frogs Are Carnivores

As tadpoles frogs are herbivores, then omnivores. But as froglets and adults, they only eat animal-based foods. Frogs eat insects, small mammals, small amphibians, small fish, and small birds.

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Frog tadpoles mainly feed on algae, but may also eat phytoplankton. As they grow into baby frogs and adult frogs, they become obligate carnivores meaning that frogs have to have meat in their diets to survive. Frogs eat whole, live prey that they actively or passively hunt. 

8. Frogs Are Cannibals

Frogs are cannibals and larger frogs may eat smaller frogs at any stage of their development. A frog tadpole may eat another tadpole if their environment lacks plant-based foods. Large frogs are known to eat frog eggs, tadpoles and smaller frogs.

A 2015 study led by G. John Measey found that the more frog species in a given area results in more cannibalism, and that invasive frogs had a diet that largely consisted of other frogs when compared to native frog species (CTNF).

9. Frogs Can Jump up to 44x Their Body Length

Generally frogs can jump 1 to 44 times their own body length. American Bullfrogs can jump 213 cm (83 in), and Northern Leopard Frogs can jump 162 cm (64 in).

We all know that aquatic frogs are incredible jumpers, but you might underestimate their abilities. The structure of their legs can allow these creatures to jump incredible distances. 

10. Frogs Are Sensitive to Environmental Changes 

Although Frogs can inhabit a variety of places, they are sensitive to environmental changes. Frogs need access to clean, unpolluted water to reproduce and to survive. 

New and severe swings and changes in weather patterns, droughts, urbanization, pollution, destruction of aquatic areas, and deforestation are devastating to frogs and putting them in danger. Many of the factors endangering frogs are due to human activities.

11. You Can Tell The Age of a Frog Based on Their Bones

Rings inside of frogs bones can provide information on the frog’s age. During hibernation, frogs form a new layer of bone and so just like with trees, one can find out the age of a frog from the rings in its bones.

Frogs are generally eggs for 3 to 25 days, then tadpoles for 14 to 16 weeks, then froglets or baby frogs for 6 to 9 weeks until they grow into adult frogs that can reproduce. It is much harder to tell the age of an adult frog just by looking at it. 

12. Frogs Breathe Through Their Skin

Frogs breathe through their skin, lungs, and nostrils. The type of respiration used will vary depending on where the frog is located but their preferred way to breathe is through their skin by absorbing oxygen from water.

Holding frogs is not good for them since they breathe best in water and the oils on our skin irritates their respiratory system. So avoid handling frogs if possible.

13. All Toads Are Frogs, But Not All Frogs Are Toads

Toads are a subclassification of frogs, which means that all toads are frogs, but not all frogs are toads. Frogs and toads are both part of the Anura family, but toads generally have warts, shorter legs, and live on land.

So the next time you encounter a toad, remember that all toads are frogs.

14. Toads And Frogs Do Not Give Warts

You might be thinking that touching a toad or a frog can get you warts, but this is far from the truth.  

Toads can not give you warts which is a viral infection that frogs and toads do not carry. Frogs may be poisonous, carry salmonella and other diseases, so it is important to wash your hands, wear gloves, or avoid handling them.

15. Pink, Purple and Rainbow Frogs Do Not Exist

You may have seen some really cool colorful frogs images on social media or in search engines like Google. Here is a reality check.

Purple Frogs, Rainbow Frogs, Pseudodendrobate Americanus, Lipstick False Dart Frogs, or Pink Dart Frogs do not exist. The image in search engines and on social media of a Pink, Purple and Rainbow Frogs are edited versions of other frog photos.

Do not believe everything you see. Find out what colors frogs can be in this article on our blog.

16. Toads Can Kill Your Pets

Generally Toads can be detrimental to pets if ingested or licked intentionally or during play. Toads secrete poison behind their eyes that can make cats or dogs very sick.

Most frogs (outside the Amazon Forest) are harmless to humans but are dangerous to common household pets. Toads are especially problematic since they can commonly be found in people’s backyards. If you see a frog or a toad, keep your car or dog away. If they ingest one, be sure to contact a veterinarian quickly.

Learn how to get rid of frogs in your yard in this article on our blog.

17. It Has Already Rained Frogs

It has rained frogs a few times in North America and here are some examples:

• 1921 Calgary Canada
• 1873 Kansas City, USA
• 1882 Dubuque, Iowa, USA

Each time it was explained by frogs getting swept up by a tornado. These frogs then flew into the Earth’s atmosphere, where they froze and then fell back down to the surface.

18. You Can Eat Frog Legs

Humans can eat Bullfrog, the Javan Giant Frog, and the Anatolian Water Frog. There are other types of frogs that you can eat safely, but these are the frogs that are most commonly eaten around the world.

Frog legs are a delicacy in a variety of places around the world including parts of the South of the USA, South Africa, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, France, parts of Portugal and Eastern Europe. 

19. Some Frogs Have Pain Killing Properties

Frog’s skin has a lot of different chemicals and depending on the type of frog, some can be harmful to humans while others can be helpful. Some frogs have enough poison on their skins to kill up to 10 people and others have chemicals that have 200 times the power of regular morphine.

As you can see, some frogs can do humans a lot of harm, but others can offer a lot to science. Frogs with the ability to produce chemicals that mimic painkillers are important for advancements in fields like pharmacology. 

20. Some Frogs Are Invasive

Cane Toads (Bufo Marinus) are an invasive species in Florida and in Australia where they are not native, but were introduced in 1935 by humans to control the beetle population that was eating cane plants.

However, they did not eat the correct species, proliferated and are now invasive.

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There are now an estimated 200 million Cane Toads in Australia that have travelled over 2000 km. Cane Toads can lay up to 30,000 eggs twice per year, are poisonous to native Australian wildlife, and have adapted incredibly well to their environment. Cane Toads are proliferating at incredibly fast rates and killing native species to Australia.

Check out 46 more incredible frog facts in this article on our blog!

Sources

AmphibiaWeb.Org

Measey GJ, Vimercati G, de Villiers FA, Mokhatla MM, Davies SJ, Edwards S, Altwegg R. 2015. Frog eat frog: exploring variables influencing anurophagy. PeerJ 3:e1204 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1204 

Sun Sentinel, News 19 May 1968

AquaticSciences.Org, Fun Frog Activity

CTV Global News, The day it rained frogs in Calgary

Poison Dart Frogs Are The Most Poisonous Frogs Alive, BBC Earth

Painkiller From Frog’s Poison, by Science News StaffJan. 2, 1998