Frogs

Reproduction of frogs
Once adult frogs reach maturity, they will assemble at a water source such as a
pond or stream to breed. Many frogs return to the bodies of water where they wer
e born, often resulting in annual migrations involving thousands of frogs. In co
ntinental Europe, a large proportion of migrating frogs used to die on roads, be
fore special fences and tunnels were built for them.
Male and female Common toad (Bufo bufo) in amplexus
A Male and Female common toad in amplexus. The black strands are eggs released i
nto open water minutes after birth.
Once at the breeding ground, male frogs call to attract a mate, collectively bec
oming a chorus of frogs. The call is unique to the species, and will attract fem
ales of that species. Some species have satellite males who do not call, but int
ercept females that are approaching a calling male.
The male and female frogs then undergo amplexus. This involves the male mounting
the female and gripping her (sometimes with special nuptial pads) tightly. Fert
ilization is external: the egg and sperm meet outside of the body. The female re
leases her eggs, which the male frog covers with a sperm solution. The eggs then
swell and develop a protective coating. The eggs are typically brown or black,
with a clear, gelatin-like covering.
Most temperate species of frogs reproduce between late autumn and early spring.
In the UK, most common frog populations produce frogspawn in February, although
there is wide variation in timing. Water temperatures at this time of year are r
elatively low, typically between four and 10 degrees Celsius. Reproducing in the
se conditions helps the developing tadpoles because dissolved oxygen concentrati
ons in the water are highest at cold temperatures. More importantly, reproducing
early in the season ensures that appropriate food is available to the developin
g frogs at the right time
Natural Frog Habitat
Given below is information about the life cycle of a frog, and the frogs habitat
s.
* Frogs are seen almost everywhere, they exist in rain-forests, forests and
caves; they can also be seen in deserts and on mountaintops.
* The best places for frogs are places which are mucky and have lot of bugs.
An interesting fact about frogs is that they have an extensible tongue which ha
s a sticky surface, and they can flick it quickly to catch a bug when it is rest
ing on a leaf or flying.
* Frogs are mostly seen in swamps, marshes, ditches, streams and puddles, as
these places have plenty of muck and insects.
* Frogs lay eggs which hatch into tadpoles, the tadpoles are dark squiggly l
ooking creatures who have tails for swimming and gills for breathing, as they sp
end their time living in water.
* After the stage of metamorphosis, the tadpole transforms into the four-leg
ged frog. Frogs spend most of their time on the land, but are mostly around some
or the other water body. Frogs breathe and drink from their skin, and thus thei
r skin is always wet.
* Frogs form an important part of the ecological system as they feed on bugs
, and are food of many predators like birds. However, due to the chemical pollut
ion and the destruction of wetlands for construction purposes, there is a huge d
ecline in the amount of frogs habitat.
Respiration and circulation
The skin of a frog is permeable to oxygen and carbon dioxide, as well as to wate
r. There are a number of blood vessels near the surface of the skin. When a frog
is underwater, oxygen is transmitted through the skin directly into the bloodst
ream. On land, adult frogs use their lungs to breathe. Their lungs are similar t
o those of humans, but the chest muscles are not involved in respiration, and th
ere are no ribs or diaphragm to support breathing. Frogs breathe by taking air i
n through the nostrils (which often have valves which close when the frog is sub
merged), causing the throat to puff out, then compressing the floor of the mouth
, which forces the air into the lungs. In August 2007 an aquatic frog named Barb
ourula kalimantanensis was discovered in a remote part of Indonesia. The Bornean
Flat-headed Frog (B. kalimantanensis) is the first species of frog known to sci
ence without lungs.
Frogs are known for their three-chambered heart, which they share with all tetra
pods except birds, crocodilians and mammals. In the three-chambered heart, oxyge
nated blood from the lungs and de-oxygenated blood from the respiring tissues en
ter by separate atria, and are directed via a spiral valve to the appropriate ve
ssel aorta for oxygenated blood and pulmonary artery for deoxygenated blood. This
special structure is essential to keeping the mixing of the two types of blood t
o a minimum, which enables frogs to have higher metabolic rates, and to be more
active than otherwise.
Some species of frog have remarkable adaptations that allow them to survive in o
xygen deficient water. The lake titicaca frog (Telmatobius culeus) is one such s
pecies and to survive in the poorly oxygenated waters of Lake Titicaca it has in
credibly wrinkly skin that increases its surface area to enhance gas exchange. T
his frog will also do 'push-ups' on the lake bed to increase the flow of water a
round its body
Physical Characteristics
Like mammals, birds, bony fishes, reptiles, and other amphibians, frogs are vert
ebrates (VER-teh-brehts). A vertebrate is an animal with a spine, or backbone. C
ompared with all the other vertebrates, frogs are the only ones that have this c
ombination of features:
* A wide head and large mouth
* Two big, bulging eyes
* A short body with only eight or nine bones in the spine
* Two extra bones in the ankle area that make their long legs even longer
* A long, rod-shaped bone, called a urostyle (YUR-oh-stile) in the hip area
* No tail
Most of the frogs are about 1.5 to 3.0 inches (3.5 to 7.5 centimeters) long from
the tip of the snout to the end of the rump. Some are much smaller. The smalles
t species are the Brazilian two-toed toadlet and the Cuban Iberian rain frog, wh
ich only grow to about 0.4 inches (1 centimeter) long. These compare with the un
usually large Goliath frog, which can grow to 12.6 inches (32 centimeters) long
and weigh 7 pounds (3.25 kilograms).
Support System
The frogs support system is endoskeleton. It means that the frog has an internal
support structure of an animal, composed of mineralized tissue. Endoskeleton de
velops within the skin or in the deeper body tissues. The vertebrate is basicall
y an endoskeleton made up of two types of tissues (bone and cartilage).
Grasshopper
Circulation and respiration
Grasshoppers have open circulatory systems, with most of the body fluid (haemoly
mph) filling body cavities and appendages. The one closed organ, the dorsal vess
el, extends from the head through the thorax to the hind end. It is a continuous
tube with two regions: the heart, which is restricted to the abdomen; and the a
orta, which extends from the heart to the head through the thorax. Haemolymph is
pumped forward from the hind end and the sides of the body through a series of
valved chambers, each of which contains a pair of lateral openings (ostia). The
haemolymph continues to the aorta and is discharged through the front of the hea
d. Accessory pumps carry haemolymph through the wing veins and along the legs an
d antennae before it flows back to the abdomen. This haemolymph circulates nutri
ents through the body and carries metabolic wastes to the malphighian tubes to b
e excreted. Because it does not carry oxygen, grasshopper "blood" is green.
Respiration is performed using tracheae, air-filled tubes, which open at the sur
faces of the thorax and abdomen through pairs of spiracles. The spiracle valves
only open to allow oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange. The tracheoles, found at
the end of the tracheal tubes, are insinuated between cells and carry oxygen thr
oughout the body
Habitat of a Grasshopper
Grasshoppers are observed in all kinds of habitats. Some examples of grasshopper
s habitat are grasslands, rain forests, pastures, fields, swamps and tropics. Mo
st surprisingly they are also found in deserts. In case of adverse conditions, g
rasshoppers are known to migrate in large numbers. Areas with dense vegetation l
ike scrubs, are home to some rare and interesting species of grasshoppers.
Grasshoppers Life Cycle and Reproduction
Most grasshoppers are musical, and sing songs to attract their mates! They sing
(make sounds) by rubbing their back legs on their fore-wings, which is called st
ridulation. Females make softer noises compared to males, which helps to disting
uish between the genders. Some species who can't sing, find their mates with the
help of scent and sight.
In some species of grasshoppers, the sperms in the genital tract of the female,
from her first mate is replaced by the sperm of her next mate. This is the reaso
n that males try and mate as many times as possible with the same female and oth
er females, so that they can pass on their genes. Sadly, the females die after t
hey lay eggs. The eggs, laid on the ground, generally on a leaf or plant stem, h
atch into larvae 3 - 4 weeks later. The larvae hide themselves underground immed
iately, and come out as nymphs (small adults) and after 3 months, mature to full
-sized adults. This was about the life cycle of a grasshopper. The lifespan of a
n average grasshopper is 1 year.
Special Physical Characteristics
There are many interesting grasshopper facts, some of which are listed below.
* If grasshoppers are picked up, they spit out a brownish liquid, which is c
ommonly known as tobacco juice!
* A grasshopper can jump up to, about 20 times its body length. If you could
do that, you would definitely win the long jump at the Olympics!
* Their color and body shape, helps them to hide (camouflage) in fields to p
rotect them against their predators. Also, they have eyes which are usually brow
n, green or gray colored to match their surroundings.
* Crickets, a type of grasshoppers, can be used to calculate temperature. Af
ter sunset, calculate the number of times a cricket chirps in 15 seconds and add
40 to this number, and you will have temperature in Fahrenheit.
Grasshoppers can eat almost anything, from clothes, tomatoes, paper, and even to
xic plants! Maybe that is the reason for their brilliant adaptability which in t
urn has resulted in their occupation of varied grasshoppers habitats.
Support system
A grasshopper has an exoskeleton, meaning having its skeleton outside the body.
An exoskeleton is an external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's bo
dy, in contrast to the internal skeleton (endoskeleton)
Leech
Reproduction
Leeches are hermaphrodites, meaning each one of them has both female and male re
productive organs (ovaries and testes respectively). Leeches reproduce by recipr
ocal fertilization, and sperm transfer occurs during copulation. Similarly to th
e earthworms, leeches also use a clitellum to hold their eggs and secrete the co
coon.
During reproduction leeches utilize hyperdermic injection of their sperm. They u
se a spermatophore, which is a structure containing the sperm. Once next to anot
her leech, the two will line up with their anterior side opposite the other's po
sterior. The leech then shoots the spermatophore into the clitellur region of th
e opposing leech where its sperm will make its way to the female reproductive pa
rts.
Habitat
Leeches are found in a wide variety of habitats. Those living in the ocean and e
stuaries (EHS-chew-air-eez), or wide areas where rivers join the sea, are found
on rocks, plants, or attached to fish or other sea animals. Species living on la
nd are found in moist habitats, such as rainforests or wet coastal forests. They
are usually found clinging to plants or under rocks. Freshwater species live in
swamps, ponds, streams, and rivers where they are live on wood, rocks, vegetati
on, or on other animals.
Respiratory system
They breathe through the skin. One family of leeches is known to have external g
ills. However, gas exchange usually occurs at the body surface where oxygen is a
bsorbed.
Support system
Leech has a Hydrostatic Skeleton. A hydrostatic skeleton or hydroskeleton is a s
tructure found in many cold-blooded organisms and soft-bodied animals consisting
of a fluid-filled cavity, the coelom, surrounded by muscles.
Physical Characteristics
They are brown or black colored worms having a segmented body (34 segments). Lee
ches possess a special sucker in both ends. In majority of the species, the mout
h encloses three jaws, each equipped with small teeth. Leeches move from one pla
ce to another by walking in a looping manner.
# The largest leech recorded till date measures about 16 inch in length. On an a
verage, the size of leeches is between 7 - 80 mm.
# Like earthworms, leeches are hermaphrodites, meaning that a single leech has b
oth male and female sexual organs.
# Leeches bite is painless, which is due to the anesthetic present in the saliva
secretion of leeches.
# Leeches have the ability to feed in large amounts (about 5 times their body we
ight) and store nutrients for future use.
# Many leech species can survive for about one year after having a blood meal. T
hey use the preserve food for survival.
# Some species (e.g hirudo) lays their young ones in cocoons, while others (e.g.
 Amazon leech) keep their babies (as much as 300) in the stomach
Centipede
habitat
The centipede is found in tropical and temperate climates all over the world.Cen
tipedes prefer to live in moist habitats and during the day occur underneath roc
ks, logs and other objects in contact with the ground.
Centipedes are found throughout the world and in a wide variety of terrestrial h
abitats from tropical rainforests to deserts. They require their micro-habitat t
o be moist and are often found in soil and leaf litter, under stones and deadwoo
d, and inside logs.
Special physical characteristics
Other interesting facts
* The bite of some larger species of centipede can be hazardous to humans. A
lthough the bite is unlikely to be fatal, it can be painful and cause fever and
swelling. A centipede's sting can also induce anaphylactic shock in those people
who have allergies to bee stings.
* If a centipede loses one of its legs, it can grow another to replace it.
* Some species of centipedes are kept as exotic pets
They are active at night.
Centipedes feed on insects and spiders.
They kill by grasping prey with their powerful fangs and injecting venom.
The fangs are located on the body segment just behind the head.
Millipedes feed on decomposing organic matter, but will occasionally damage see
dling plants by feeding on leaves, stems and roots.
They curl up tightly when disturbed resulting frequently in the release of fluid
s from repugnatorial glands.
Reproductive system
Centipedes live alone until they are ready to mate or when they are raising thei
r young. When they do meet, they are often very aggressive toward one another an
d will sometimes eat the other. Some species living along the seashore hunt in p
acks. Several individuals will feed together on the same animal, usually a barna
cle or beach hopper.
respiratory system
Centipedes have a tracheal respiratory system and air is brought into the body t
hrough openings called spiracles that are situated on each segment of the body.
They have digestive glands attached to their mouth parts and their digestive tra
ct is a simple tube.
Support system
Like all arthropods, centipedes lack an internal skeleton and are covered in a h
ard exoskeleton that protects their soft internal organs and serves as an attach
ment point for their muscles.