The smallest frog in the world. The most unusual species of frogs in the world - description, facts and photos The smallest frogs with a name

There are more than 4800 various types frogs that can be found all over the world. Various environment The habitat in which these frogs live gave rise to the strange-looking species we can find today. This list features ten of the most interesting and unusual frogs, which are known to science today.

10. Brazilian Horned Frog

This amazing frog lives in tropical forests Amazons in South America. The Brazilian slingshot, Ceratophrys aurita, has a distinctive appearance compared to other amphibians. Evolution has done a good job of camouflaging this creature, making it look like a leaf so that the frog can blend in with its surroundings.

A frog can grow up to large sizes, and reach twenty centimeters in length. She buries herself in the leaves so that only her head is visible, and when one of her menu passes by, she quickly grabs it and eats it. This is a very aggressive animal and locals often wear high leather boots to protect their feet from the powerful bites. Despite them aggressive character, some people keep these frogs as pets.

9. Helen's Flying Frog


This newly discovered frog was first recorded in January of this year, so there is little information available about it. However, this frog is known to be able to fly using its huge webbed feet. A frog glides through the forest canopy of South Vietnam, hiding from predators. Females have patches of skin on their paws that look like wings of sorts, which help them in flight. Their large feet help them attach to tree branches after their flight is over. Helen's flying frog - Rhacophorus helenae is quite large in size, sometimes reaching ten centimeters in length.

It was discovered by an Australian scientist in Vietnam, near Saigon. The scientist named the frog after his mother. Biologists were puzzled that such big frog, living so close to Saigon, went unnoticed for so long.

8. Atelope changeable (Harlequin Toad)


Atelopus varius is endemic to Costa Rica and over the past few years, due to the spread of the fungus and climate change, the population of this species of frog has declined rapidly. On this moment There is only one isolated population left. This species is now dangerously close to extinction.

7. Goliath Frog

Goliath frog - Conraua goliath - is the largest frog in the world. It can grow up to thirty-three centimeters in length, and its weight can reach three kilograms. The Goliath frog is twice the size of the giant African Bullfrog.

The creature is endemic West Africa. It feeds on crabs, small snakes and even other frogs. The Goliath frog does not make any sounds due to the absence of vocal glands. She has huge, powerful paws that allow her to jump long distances, up to three meters. Unfortunately, like many other frog species, the goliath frog is vulnerable to human activity, such as hunting, deforestation and animal trade. These factors have already made this frog species an endangered species.

6. Ovoviviparous Toad (Morogoro Tree Toad)


Endemic to the rainforests and grasslands of Tanzania, the ovoviviparous toad, Nectophrynoides Viviparus, has large glands on its body located near the eyes and limbs. These glands can come in a variety of colors, including orange, grey, green, red and white. The color of the gland usually contrasts with the rest of the frog's skin.

The eggs hatch while still inside the female, and are born into small but fully formed toads. This type of pregnancy is quite rare for amphibians.

5. Venezuela Pebble Toad

The pebble toad usually lives in mountainous areas with big amount steep slopes. In case of danger, such as a tarantula, (one of the main predators that prey on this species of toad), it hides its head and limbs under its body, and then tenses its muscles. Thus, it forms a ball, and then rolls down the nearest hill into a puddle or crevice at its foot.

The pebble toad does not suffer any damage from rolling and bouncing because it is very light and its muscles are very strong. The frog uses this defense mechanism because rolling is much faster for it than jumping, and it cannot jump long distances.

4. Vietnamese Mossy Frog

Lichen copepod - Theloderma corticale, lives in tropical forests and swamps northern Vietnam. The frog received this name because of its distinctive shape camouflage that looks like moss and lichen. When predators approach, the frog hides its paws underneath itself so that only the mossy areas of its body are visible. This frog has large pads on its feet that help it stay on trees, and its diet consists exclusively of insects. Frogs lay their eggs on the walls of caves, and the tadpoles fall into the water below, where they spend the rest of their lives. The lichen copepod is a popular pet in Asia.

3. Turtle Frog


The turtle frog, Myobatrachus gouldii, is native to the semi-arid regions of Western Australia. She has a very unusual appearance- it looks like a turtle without a shell, with a round pink-brown body, a small head and short limbs. Their limbs are short and muscular, allowing them to dig into the sand and break open termite mounds, which are the frog's main food source.

The turtle frog does not go through the tadpole stage, but instead grows into a fully formed little frog while still inside the egg. Therefore, turtle frog eggs are the largest among the eggs of all frogs in Australia, their size reaches 5 - 7 millimeters in length.

2. Glass Frog

Unusual looking glass frog- Centrolenidae, endemic to the Amazon River basin.

The main part of the body of these frogs is green, but the lower part of their body has transparent skin. This allows you to clearly see their liver, heart and intestines. In pregnant females, even frog eggs located inside are visible. The frog's transparent skin is believed to serve as protection and allow light reflected from the leaves to shine through. This makes it much less noticeable to predators. They live in trees in humid mountain areas and lay eggs on leaves. The tadpoles then fall down into the water and continue to grow to adulthood.

1. Surinamese pipa (Surinam Toad)


The first place on this list is occupied by the Surinamese pipa - Pipa pipa. Like many other frogs, it lives in the Amazon rainforest. This is a large frog that can grow up to twenty centimeters in length. Compared to other species, this frog has a very flat body and tiny eyes. These frogs are typically dirty brown in color and have no tongue or teeth. When searching for a mate, the Surinamese pipa does not croak like regular frogs; instead, it makes high-pitched clicking sounds by striking two bones located in its throat.

Even stranger is the pipa's spawning and reproductive mode. The male attaches to the female in the pond, forming amplexus, a unique form of pseudocopulation. The couple then jumps out of the water several times. After each jump, the female releases several eggs, which are implanted on her back through the skin. These eggs then burrow deeper into the body and within these pockets develop into fully formed peeps. Then, during childbirth, they burst out of the female's skin.

+
Purple Frog


Purple frog - Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis, this unique look frogs and the only member of the family Nasikabatrachidae that lives in the mountains of southern India. The frog has smooth, purple skin and a large, round body with squat limbs. This frog has a small head and a nose like a pig's snout. The purple frog spends most of its life underground and only emerges from its tunnel for two weeks each year. This species has evolved independently over 130 million years, and its closest living relatives are the Seychelles frogs (Sooglossidae frogs), found in the Seychelles.

This is an ordinary inhabitant of the pond and there seems to be nothing surprising about it. However, this is one of the most amazing representatives animal world. Let's find out more about the most unusual species frogs in the world.

Transparent or glass frog

The length of this small strange frog, found in the Mexican state of Chiapas, is only 2 cm. All the insides are clearly visible through the colorless skin of the abdomen, which is why it is also called glass. This species of amphibian hunts at night, eating small insects. The transparent frog lays eggs on the leaves of bushes hanging over the water so that the hatched tadpoles can immediately get into their native element.

Poison frog coca

Another miniature representative of amphibians comes from the jungles of Colombia. Another name for this frog, which aptly describes both its appearance and lifestyle, is the spotted dart frog. This strange frog has gained bad fame thanks to its unusually toxic poison, which is several thousand times stronger than the poison of one of the most dangerous snakes- rattling. Until now, scientists have been unsuccessfully trying to find an antidote to it. The poison is produced in the skin of the frog, in special glands, and is released when touched. The body of just one frog is capable of producing an amount of poison that can kill one and a half thousand people. Well what can I say, be careful in the jungles of Colombia!

Hairy frog

This unusual species of frog was discovered in Gabon, which Central Africa, at the beginning of the twentieth century. The peculiar hair on the back of males is an extension of the skin; blood circulation occurs in them, and nerve endings are also located in them. It is believed that these conditional hairs are a kind of respiratory organs of the male frog, and by increasing the surface of the body, they help to increase metabolism.

Goliath frog

Enough rare view amphibians native to West Africa. Long body The frog reaches 30 cm and weighs an incomprehensible 3.5 kg. The largest specimen caught in Angola was 40 cm long. This giant among tailless amphibians loves clean running water saturated with oxygen. The goliath's diet consists of small frogs, tadpoles, mice and lizards. Locals, in turn, are happy to hunt this amazing frog, which threatens the conservation of the species.

bull frog

Living in North America, this close-up view frogs, although inferior in size to the African Goliath frog, loudly announces itself in a different way. In the spring, bullfrogs emit a deafening croaking sound, more reminiscent of the mooing of a herd of cows. The roar of a frog alone can be heard from a distance of 3 kilometers. However, unlike real bulls, the bullfrog is not a vegetarian at all: it feeds on shellfish, insects, as well as chicks and small fish.

Sharp-nosed tree frog

The unusual nose of this species of frog, native to New Guinea, gives it a funny appearance. But this is not just a whim. This nocturnal hunter is forced to hide in crevices during the day, leaving only her thin, curved, hard nose on the surface. It’s not possible to pull a frog out of its hiding place, let alone small predators, but even to a person.

flying frog

This little frog has set a record for long jumps, which are more like flying. Found in the humid tropics South-East Asia, she is capable of jumping as much as 12 meters. This is a huge distance, considering that the size of the frog itself is 10-12 centimeters. The reason for this jumping ability lies in the wide, dark orange membranes between the toes on the frog's legs, flat body and the ability to plan.

Many unusual discoveries have been made by frog researchers, and simply concerned naturalists. But these amazing animals still keep many secrets. In anticipation of new discoveries, with respect and love, we will look at our neighbor on the planet - such an ordinary and at the same time extraordinary frog.

Frogs belong to the largest detachment amphibians - tailless. There are thousands of varieties, this issue contains 10 of the strangest and most unusual.

The rainbow frog is an object of worship in India. Hundreds of people flock to Reji Kumar's house in India every day to pray and ask for miracles. The frog shimmered white when Reggie from Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala in south india, saw her for the first time. Then it glowed yellow and then turned gray. A frog that constantly changes color is considered a god in India.

Hyalinobatrachium pellucidum – also called glass or transparent frog because of her transparent skin, through which her insides can be seen. Unfortunately, this is an endangered amphibian species.

The harlequin frog is known by many names, such as the clown frog or the Costa Rican harlequin toad. Whatever you call it, it is a neo-tropical frog that used to be a fairly common species in Costa Rica and Panama. Now this species is listed in the Red Book; frogs of this species live today mainly in Panama.

The northern leopard frog is considered an unusual species, reaching a length of up to 9 cm. The colors on its back range from brown to dark green, and the round spots are distinguished by a white line.

It is believed that the higher the geographic altitude, the larger the animal living there. However, the smallest frog in the world lives precisely at altitude - in the Andes of southern Peru at an altitude of 3 - 3.19 meters.

Paint dart frog, like this one blue subspecies, — common name a group of frogs in the dart frog family, which lives in Central and South America. Unlike most frogs, this species is active during the day and almost always has brightly colored bodies. Although all dart frogs are poisonous to some extent, levels of poison vary depending on the subspecies and population. Many subspecies are in danger of extinction. American Indians used their poison for their arrows and darts. (Gail Shumway/Getty images 2007)

The Goliath frog is the largest surviving species of toad on Earth. Its dimensions reach 33 cm in length from the muzzle to the cloaca, and it weighs up to 3 kg. This species lives mainly in western Africa, near Gabon. The Goliath frog can live up to 15 years. They feed on scorpions, insects and small frogs. These frogs have excellent hearing, but do not have a vocal resonator.

Theloderma corticale, or Vietnamese marsh frog, is a species of frog in the copepod family. It can be found in Vietnam and possibly China. Usually lives in tropical and subtropical wet forests, intermittent freshwater swamps and rocky areas. The frog is also often called the moss frog due to the fact that its skin resembles moss growing on a rock, which, incidentally, provides it with excellent camouflage. Some people keep such a frog at home. The price of this miracle is approximately 45-75 dollars.

As the name suggests, the Mantella frog is red/orange in color. These are small frogs, reaching a length of up to 2.5 cm. They live in Madagascar.

This horned frog can grow up to 15 cm in length and is native to Uruguay, Brazil, and northern Argentina. Although this hulk looks like a cake (or a pincushion, if you prefer), it reacts very quickly when a lizard, small rodent, frog or bird flies by.

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.

Nobella frog

The smallest frog was found, oddly enough, high in the mountains. Namely, in the southern part of Peru, in the Andes mountains. The new kind The animals were named Noblela (Noblella pygmaea). It turned out to be very difficult to see the smallest amphibian, since its size is very miniature; an adult reaches only 10-13 millimeters in length. Females of these amphibians reach slightly larger sizes than males: the former grow up to 12.5 millimeters, and the latter - only 11.

In the bush of Peru

This small frog, the size of a tiny coin, also has a camouflage brown coloring, so it is almost impossible to notice it in the thickets of Peru.

Nobles live in dense tropical evergreen forests and meadows located high in the mountains, at an altitude of about 3000-3200 meters above sea level.

Caring for offspring

The smallest frog in the world, it has several differences from other amphibians. One of them is that the frog lays only 2 eggs (eggs). Each of which is 1/3 the size of the frog itself. Lays eggs in something damp, it can be fallen leaves, moss, grass.

The amphibian grabs 2 eggs and cares for them until they mature and hatch. Newborn animals do not have the same developmental stage as a tadpole; they are immediately in the adult stage.

Uncharted Territories

Nobles live in one territory all their lives, not leaving it even during the breeding season. This is very unusual for other frogs. Their small size allows them to take their place in the distribution of animals throughout the territory, without interfering with larger inhabitants.

Scientists believe that with further search and study of unexplored territories in the area South America Even smaller creatures may be found.

24.04.2012 - 16:53

What kind of miracles exist in nature! Frogs are one of the most amazing creatures living on our planet. Don't believe me? Then look for yourself at the giant frogs, tiny frogs, golden frogs and other most unusual and wonderful representatives of the “wah” fauna...

Tree frogs, toads and frogs

First, in order not to get confused, let's quickly figure out how frogs differ from toads, and those, in turn, from tree frogs. So, frogs. They prefer to live in bodies of water (or in close proximity to water), and have teeth on the upper jaw and swim membranes on the hind legs. Frogs also have fairly smooth skin.

Toads have no teeth, their skin is rather uneven and drier and darker than that of frogs. Toads live on land, but do not go into water very willingly and only during the breeding season.

Tree frogs are the smallest family of amphibians. Tree frogs have fingers that end in discs that allow them to climb trees, something neither frogs nor toads can really do. Having climbed higher, the tree frog, if the need suddenly arises, can easily glide to a nearby tree or back to the ground.

Meeting Goliath

Different types of frogs (we will call them all frogs for convenience) amaze us with a wealth of shapes, colors and sizes. Are you not amazed? That's because you've never met a goliath frog, for example. Imagine that you are walking through the swamps of Equatorial Guinea, approaching a small waterfall, and suddenly something jumps from the bushes straight into the water with a terrible roar and a cloud of splashes!

Something – about a meter in length (including legs) and weighing about three kilograms. Zoologists will tell you about weight and length later, but the first impression (and for the faint of heart, the last) will be as if you scared away a slimy, disgusting dinosaur.

In fact, the Goliath frog is only dangerous to people with weak hearts. She does not know how to bite, she is afraid of people (because the natives perceive her as a delicacy), and not only people. It hunts mainly insects, and spends most of its time sitting on beaches and coastal rocks, ready to dive into the depths at any hint of danger. Having disappeared under the water, the goliath emerges after 10-15 minutes, but not entirely, and to begin with, it exposes only the tip of its nose and eyes to the surface. Having made sure that the beach is clear, the goliath climbs entirely onto the shore and again takes its position on its favorite pebble.

Panamanian gold

Did not impress? Are you a person with nerves of iron, and some (even very large) toads won’t scare you? Fine. Then let's move to Panama and get acquainted with one of the symbols of this country - the Panamanian golden frog.

The Panama frog is small and very beautiful - its skin is bright and juicy yellow. There is a belief that this amphibian turns into gold after its (necessarily natural) death. That is why in central America before the arrival of the conquistadors there was so much gold and products made from it. They say that the first colonists, having heard enough Indian stories about frogs, drove the poor amphibians into special pens and left them there to die in the expectation that they would turn into precious ingots.

If you meet golden frog, then you can watch her life (rather sparsely saturated), make a wish or honor the memory of the Indians, and at the same time the first settlers. You can listen to male golden frogs, which are capable of making sounds that can travel for several kilometers. Surely you will be attracted by the “gesture language” of these amphibians. The fact is that golden frogs live near noisy waterfalls, and therefore communicate with each other mainly not with sounds, but with gestures - they raise their right or left paws, wave them quite funny, turn their heads, etc.

You can do all this. Except for one thing - don’t even think about picking up the golden frog. The Panama golden frog is one of nature's most poisonous creatures, and its poison is found directly on the skin. Moreover, the younger the individual, the more deadly the poison, which helps teenage frogs survive in this world.

Amphibian Princess

If you really want to cuddle the poor amphibian, or even take it home to keep it in an aquarium, leave the golden frog alone and get a real “princess” - the red-eyed tree frog, which also lives in South America.

Photos of this funny creature can be found everywhere, which is not surprising. Red-eyed frog– slender, with smooth skin and suction cup paws, very pretty, defenseless, safe, and makes an unforgettable impression on even the most inveterate frogphobes. Its main color is green, on the sides and base of its paws it is blue with a yellow pattern, and its toes are orange. The belly is white or cream. The eyes, as we understand it, are red. Some individuals have small white spots on the back.

It's funny that young Panamanian tree frogs can change their color: daytime they are green and turn purple or red-brown at night.

An example of minimalism

We talked about the largest, most poisonous and most beautiful frogs. Next up is the smallest tree frog to date.

This little one, whose name - Paedophryne amauensis - is much longer than itself, was discovered by a group of scientists from Louisiana State University in the forests of Papua New Guinea just last December.

The body length of the microfrog is only 8-9 mm. And the coloring is such that it is almost impossible to notice it on the ground. It's even surprising that she was found at all...

Uncombed wah

Gerald Durrell wrote: “I was looking for a hairy frog in the lowland forests of Cameroon, but all the hunters there unanimously insisted that such a thing did not exist in the world. I stood my ground, and they looked at me with pity - this, they say, is another proof of incomprehensible stupidity white man, because even small children know that frogs don’t have hair!” And they laughed in vain African hunters over the famous zoologist. Hairy frogs do exist, and Darrell finally managed to get them for his zoo!

So what kind of miracle is a hairy frog? This is a rather large amphibian with a wide and flat head, eyes bulging in endless surprise and a huge, greedy mouth. The body color on top is dark chocolate, the belly is white. Well, the main difference between the hairy frog and ordinary marsh tree frogs is, in fact, the hair sticking out from the sides and on the hips.

That is, this is, of course, not the kind of hair that grows on our heads, but something like thick, tangled algae. Only males have this decoration. Hairy females have not been observed in nature.

At first, scientists were extremely surprised. They even decided that hairy females simply had to exist, they were just hard to find. But later, when it became clear why the hairy frog actually needed its hair, the question of gender inequality disappeared by itself.

It turned out that frogs... breathe with these “hairs” when they sit under water for a long time. These are just a type of gills as an addition to the lungs. And only males have hair, and only for that period when they are forced to sit in their pond almost without getting out and guard the clutch of eggs. But females have no need for gills at all; they breathe only through their lungs.

And all because, firstly, they do not protect underwater masonry, and secondly, they rarely climb into ponds and puddles, preferring land. It is interesting that Mother Nature, unlimited in her imagination, awarded this amazing frog not only with thick and lush hair, but also... huge claws, which, like a cat’s “fish hooks,” are hidden in special pouches on the fingers.

If the predator manages to grab the frog, then it releases its claws and begins to swing its paws until the discouraged and scratched enemy spits out this seemingly harmless, but, it turns out, such a bloodthirsty creature.

Pipa Americana

Everyone who has read M. Bulgakov’s novel “Fatal Eggs” knows about this frog (more precisely, a toad). After all, it was her death that Professor Persikov grieved most of all. Pipa is a unique toad. First of all, it looks like a paver has driven over it. This helps the Americana pretend to be “non-living” and avoid contact with predators.

These amazing amphibians are found only on the South American continent: Brazil, Guyana, French Guiana and Suriname. Most Pipas prefer to spend their lives in water. The mating call of male pipas resembles the ticking of a small clock. Obeying the calling tick, the female comes across her half and begins the process of throwing eggs, unlike any other existing in the world.