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Life cycles: Frogs
Most (not all) kinds of frogs mate as they float in shallow water. Sperm from the male frog's body mixes with eggs which the female lays in the water. The sperm will make the eggs fertile, which means they will grow and hatch into tadpoles.
The eggs are coated with jelly and float
on the water.
The eggs are called
frogspawn.
A few days after mating, tadpoles
hatch from 
the eggs. The tadpoles
eat plants that grow in the water. They breathe oxygen from the
water through gills.
Later the tadpoles grow back legs.
After the tadpoles grow front legs, their tails shrink and the gills disappear. They now breathe oxygen through lungs.
Young frogs are called froglets. They can leave the water and live on land. Frogs eat snails, slugs, flies and other insects.
Frogs can breed when they are about three years old, and can live for up to 10 years.
| There are about 208 frog species in Australia: 7 are extinct and 27 are threatened, most of them in eastern Australia. Go here to find out about endangered frogs
Because of this, in Australia you are not allowed to take tadpoles from the wild. However, if you make a pond in your garden, frogs will use it to breed in. This is one way we can help save frogs from becoming extinct. Go here to find out how you can make a frog pond in your garden: http://www.environment.gov.au/education/publications/frogpond.html |
Make a frog life cycle wheel
Go here for a kidcyber activity page
If you use any part of this in your own work, acknowledge this source in your bibliography like this:
Sydenham, S & Thomas, R. Life cycles: Frogs [Online] www.kidcyber.com.au (2003)
Updated © [2008] kidcyber