Frog Facts

The earliest known frog appeared during the late Jurassic period, about 190 million years ago! Scientists believe that the oldest frogs developed jumping legs to avoid being eaten by dinosaurs.
Specimens on the first known frogs have been found on Navajo Indian reservations in Arizona. Fossils of meat-eating fish and reptiles such as dinosaurs have also been found at the same site.
These fossils show that the skeletal shape and body plan of the frog has remained almost unchanged over the last 190 million years. In addition, frogs had the added advantage of being small enough to be able to hop away to avoid the many predators which habituated its surroundings.

A group of frogs is called an "Army"

You get warts from human viruses, not from frogs and toads! Frogs have slimy skin to stay moist when it is dry, and toads have bumpy skin to help camouflage them in their habitat. Some frogs and toads have paratoidal glands which secrete poisons as protection which can cause skin irritations and may be poisonous to some species of animals, but warts have nothing at all to do with the frogs themselves!

Frog Ears! Frogs can hear using big round ears on the sides of their head called a tympanum. Tympanum means drum. The size and distance between the ears depends on the wavelength and frequency of a male frogs call. On some frogs, the ear is very hard to see!

Ever wonder how frogs that can get so LOUD manage not to hurt their own ears?
Some frogs make so much noise that they can be heard for miles! How do they keep from blowing out their own eardrums? Well, actually, frogs have special ears that are connected to their lungs. When they hear noises, not only does the eardrum vibrate, but the lung does too! Scientists think that this special pressure system is what keeps frogs from hurting themselves with their noisy calls!

Phobias

	Batrachophobia- Fear of amphibians, such as frogs, newts, salamanders, etc.
	Ranidaphobia- Fear of frogs.
	Bufonophobia- Fear of toads.

Shrieking Frogs Unnerve Hawaiian Island

By B.J. REYES

HONOLULU (AP) - A tiny frog with a huge shriek has invaded the Big Island and won't shut up. Big Island Mayor Harry Kim is looking for $2 million to begin controlling the spread of the nocturnal coqui frog, a beloved native in Puerto Rico but considered an annoying pest in Hawaii since hitching a ride over in shipments of tropical plants around 1990.

The frogs have been mating easily - and shattering quiet island nights - ever since.

Aside from the noise, the frogs have a voracious appetite for spiders and insects, competing with native birds and fauna. And coqui frogs are adaptable to many ecosystems and breed heavily in Hawaii, experts said.

Kim said the Big Island, the local name for the island of Hawaii, will once again ask Gov. Linda Lingle to declare the coqui frog infestation a state emergency to help clear the way for state financial assistance. The $2 million is needed to launch a combined state, federal and county program to combat the frogs, Kim said. He made his plea Tuesday before state lawmakers, who will consider the request later this year.

Kim said he declared a county emergency in April over the frogs, but the state waited to see if the federal government would offer assistance, which it did not.

Spraying of a citric acid solution on the islands of Oahu and Kauai have curtailed coqui populations there, but limited spraying on Kim's island has done little.

``I think the response from all of us has not been timely enough,'' he said, noting that experts suggest he focus on controlling the coqui's spread, rather than eradicating it completely.

``I kick myself in the back every day for not getting started more aggressively,'' Kim said.

More than 150 communities on the Big Island are now infested with the coin-sized frogs, named after their high-decibel ``ko-KEE, ko-KEE'' chirp.

01/20/05 07:06

© Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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