Diagram of Frog

Frogs are amphibians that belong to the order Anura. They have a stout triangular trunk, bulging eyes, wet skin, long hind legs, and no tail. They are born out of eggs as tadpoles and undergo metamorphosis to become adult frogs. All frogs are carnivores and inhabit a wide variety of ecosystems. In this article, we will study the frog, its classification, description, and its labeled diagram. They also play crucial roles in maintaining ecological balance as prey and predator.

Classification of Frog

Habitat and Distribution of Frogs

Frogs are amphibious presents in areas where they find moisture. Primarily they require freshwater habitats for breeding, such as ponds and rivers and the rest of their adult life they spend in terrestrial environments. Frogs are found worldwide and inhabit tropical rainforest to arid deserts and urban areas. They live in various microhabitats like leaf litter, burrows, corners of damp areas, rock crevices near ponds and rivers. Some frog species also have arboreal habitat and live on trees. The common Indian Bull frog is found in ponds and near freshwater bodies.

Also Read: Ecosystem

Labeled Diagram of Frog

The labeled diagram of frog are given below:

Structural Description of Frog

The diagram represents the common Indian Bull Frog. The morphological features are as follows:

• The body is dorsoventrally flat, bilaterally symmetrical, and streamlined.
• Generally the body can be 18-20 cm long and 5-8 cm wide.
• The color of the body is spotted olive on dorsal side and yellow on the ventral side.
• There is a dorsal line running from head to posterior end of the body.
• The body is divided into head and trunk. Neck and tail are absent.
• Head is flattened, triangular and is produced into a conical snout in front of nostrils.
• Nostrils are one pairs of small circular aperture at the tip of snout.
• Mouth is terminal and wide.
• Eyes are large and bulging out on dorsolateral sides of the head.
• The eyes have black pupil and golden iris. Their are two eyelids the uppper one is staionary and lower one is mobile.
• From the upper part of lower eyelid arises the nictitating membrane that is also considered as the third eyelid and it protects the eye from mud and dust.
• Posterior to each ear, lies the tympanic membrane that acts as the organ for hearing.
• External ear is absent in frogs and the circular tympanic membrane marks the external border of the middle ear.
• The trunk has a sacral hump on its dorsal side and the skin of the trunk has longitudinal folds forming the dermal plicae.
• The trunk is divided into two parts: thorax and abdomen.
• The thorax is the anterior, hard and smaller part of the trunk whereas the abdomen is the larger and posterior soft part.
• Frogs are tetrapods. i.e. they have four limbs.
• The forelimbs are short and stout.
• Each forelimb is divided into three parts: brachium, antibrachium, and manus.
• Manus is the feet that has only four digits that are unwebbed.
• Hind limbs are longer and formed of 3 parts: femur, crus, and pes.
• Pes or the foot bears 5 digits that have thin folds of skin between them. These folds are called web.
• There is a small slit like aperture at they end of the trunk that acts as the outlet for excretory products and sex cells. This aperture is called cloaca.

Sexual Dimorphism in Frog

Frogs exhibit sexual dimorphism. Male frogs are generally smaller in size than the females with distinct coloration and patterns on the skin. This helps them to attract potential mates. Apart from this the male frogs have specialized structures like vocal sacs that acts as resonators and helps in amplifying the pitch of mating call called croaking. Male frogs also have nuptial or copulatory pad beneath the index finger that enlarge during the breeding season and help in holding the female tightly during mating. Female frogs are comparitively larger in order to produce and store eggs.

Significance of Frogs

Frogs hold their importance in multiple areas including ecology, culture, and scientific studies. These importances are discussed below.

1. Bioindicators: Forgs are very sensitive to the changes in their enviroment particularly regarding the quality of water and hence act as important bioindicators.
2. Pest control: Frogs consume insects and help in pest control. By doing this they aid in agriculture and maintain ecological balance.
3. Serve as Food: Frogs are essential components of the food chain, they serve as prey for various predators, contributing to biodiversity.
4. Scientific Research: Frogs are widely studied during researches in genetics, development, and evolution. Infact they are widely studied in medicine for their antimicrobial skin secretion.
5. Cultural importance: Frogs also have cultural and symbolic importance in folklore and myths, representing transformation and fertility.
   

Also read:

• Morphology and Anatomy of Frogs
• Difference between Frogs and Toads
• Scientific Name of Frog
• Metamorphism – Life Cycle of Insects and Frogs