CNN Indonesia
Monday, 28 Aug 2023 10:00 WIB
Illustration. The frog life cycle, from eggs, tadpoles, to adults. (iStockphoto/phototrip)
Jakarta, CNNIndonesia —
The frog life cycle is the cycle or series of life that frogs experience as living beings. This cycle makes frogs different from other living things.
This is because frogs are not born directly in the form of frogs like other animals, for example, when a calf is born, it is already an elephant.
Likewise with chickens, even though they are smaller, their body shape at birth resembles chickens in general.
But this is not the case with frogs. When born, frogs are not shaped like the frogs we know with their four legs.
You see, frogs are born in the form of eggs or zygotes. Then it undergoes a transformation process known as metamorphosis until it finally turns into a frog.
Metamorphosis is a gradual change in body shape that starts from larvae to adults. Metamorphosis occurs in insects and amphibians, including frogs.
Frog Life Cycle
Illustration. The life cycle of frogs from eggs, tadpoles, to adult frogs. (iStockphoto/mari_art)
So, to find out more clearly about the development of frog life, here’s the explanation.
1. Counts
After the female frogs and male frogs mate, the female frogs will produce very large numbers of eggs, even up to thousands. However, not all eggs will hatch.
This is because some of the eggs may be preyed upon by other animals such as birds. Then, there are those that dry in the sun and crack in water.
The eggs that survive will hatch after 7-9 days. A frog egg is also known as a zygote and develops into an embryo.
Frog eggs are like soaked basil seeds, which have a black dot in the middle of a clear or transparent gel. These eggs are attached to each other.
2. Tadpole
The tadpole is the phase of the frog’s life cycle after the eggs hatch. Tadpoles are also known as larvae in the process of metamorphosis in general or also known as tadpoles.
The shape of the tadpole is like a baby fish because it has a long mouth and tail to move like a fish swimming in water.
In addition, tadpoles also have gills to breathe like fish. The tadpole has three external gills which will slowly switch to the internal gills when it changes shape again.
Regarding food, the tadpoles will absorb the rest of the energy from their cell nuclei. If the energy runs out, they will eat nearby vegetation like leaves in the water, aka becoming herbivores.
Because they cannot live on land. This life phase will occur in about three months.
3. The tadpole has legs
After a few months, the tadpole will morph again. Changes that occur in the form of breathing, namely from using the external gills to the internal gills.
Then, legs appear on the back of their body, so they are known as tadpoles with legs. Slowly, the legs also appear on the front of the body.
This metamorphosis occurs to prepare them before turning into full-fledged frogs that can live on land and jump on their feet.
In this phase, the tadpoles with legs begin to change from herbivores to carnivores because they can eat small insects.
4. Tailed frog
The final metamorphosis phase in frogs is the change from a tadpole with legs to a frog with a tail.
The metamorphosis process from a tadpole with a tail to a frog with a tail can take several months to a year depending on the frog’s habitat.
Tadpoles living in extreme environments can speed up their metamorphosis.
On the other hand, a tadpole with legs that lives in a relatively safe environment can delay its metamorphosis for up to a year, and then turn into a frog with a tail.
In the tailed frog phase, they no longer breathe with deep gills because they already have lungs.
Also, their legs are perfectly formed and the tail is slowly disappearing though not completely.
Their shape is like frogs in general, but they are still small like frogs or teenagers.
5. Adult frog
Adult frogs are frogs with a perfect body shape like the frogs that are commonly known. Their legs are very strong to jump on land and move around in their ecosystem.
As adults, frogs are no longer dependent on life in water. They are fully able to live on land and breathe with lungs.
They may return to the water to play alone or to moisturize their bodies when living in dry places. After that, they will mate with the opposite sex and produce frog eggs for the next life cycle.
That’s an explanation of the frog life cycle. Hopefully useful and happy learning!
(us/fef)
2023-08-28 03:00:00
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