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The Book of Frogs: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species from around the World
De Tim Halliday
Actions du livre
Commencer à lire- Éditeur:
- University of Chicago Press
- Sortie:
- Jan 29, 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226184791
- Format:
- Livre
Description
The Book of Frogs commemorates the diversity and magnificence of all of these creatures, and many more. Six hundred of nature’s most fascinating frog species are displayed, with each entry including a distribution map, sketches of the frogs, species identification, natural history, and conservation status. Life-size color photos show the frogs at their actual size—including the colossal seven-pound Goliath Frog. Accessibly written by expert Tim Halliday and containing the most up-to-date information, The Book of Frogs will captivate both veteran researchers and amateur herpetologists.
As frogs increasingly make headlines for their troubling worldwide decline, the importance of these fascinating creatures to their ecosystems remains underappreciated. The Book of Frogs brings readers face to face with six hundred astonishingly unique and irreplaceable species that display a diverse array of adaptations to habitats that are under threat of destruction throughout the world.
Informations sur le livre
The Book of Frogs: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species from around the World
De Tim Halliday
Description
The Book of Frogs commemorates the diversity and magnificence of all of these creatures, and many more. Six hundred of nature’s most fascinating frog species are displayed, with each entry including a distribution map, sketches of the frogs, species identification, natural history, and conservation status. Life-size color photos show the frogs at their actual size—including the colossal seven-pound Goliath Frog. Accessibly written by expert Tim Halliday and containing the most up-to-date information, The Book of Frogs will captivate both veteran researchers and amateur herpetologists.
As frogs increasingly make headlines for their troubling worldwide decline, the importance of these fascinating creatures to their ecosystems remains underappreciated. The Book of Frogs brings readers face to face with six hundred astonishingly unique and irreplaceable species that display a diverse array of adaptations to habitats that are under threat of destruction throughout the world.
- Éditeur:
- University of Chicago Press
- Sortie:
- Jan 29, 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226184791
- Format:
- Livre
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The Book of Frogs - Tim Halliday
species.
THE FROGS
ASCAPHUS TRUEI
PACIFIC TAILED FROG
(STEJNEGER, 1899)
ADULT LENGTH
1–2 in (25–51 mm); males are usually smaller than females
This very unusual frog has internal fertilization, the eggs starting their development inside the female’s body. During mating, which takes place in water, the male uses a tail-like extension of his cloaca to insert sperm into the female. The female then lays 28–96 eggs in strings under rocks in fast-flowing mountain streams. The tadpoles are adapted to life in running water, having sucker-like mouths that enable them to attach themselves to rocks. Though essentially terrestrial, adults have webbed hind feet, enabling them to swim strongly when they do enter water. Unlike most frogs, male tailed frogs do not call.
SIMILAR SPECIES
The Rocky Mountain Tailed Frog (Ascaphus montanus) was recently separated from A. truei on the basis of genetic differences. It is found in several inland mountain ranges, particularly in Montana; and also in Washington, Idaho, and Oregon. It reportedly avoids warm water and is thought to breed only in alternate years.
The Pacific Tailed Frog gets its name from the male’s tail,
which the female, shown here, lacks. In the breeding season, the male has greatly enlarged forearms. The eyes are large and have gold irises. The back is cream, gray, red, or black, with a variable pattern of dark streaks and blotches.
LEIOPELMA ARCHEYI
ARCHEY’S FROG
(TURBOTT, 1942)
ADULT LENGTH
Male
up to 1¼ in (31 mm)
Female
up to 17 /16 in (37 mm)
This primitive frog, which lacks a protrusible tongue, catches its prey by lunging at it open-mouthed. Mating occurs in moist, shallow depressions under logs, where the large eggs are laid in strings. Males defend the eggs and discharge antimicrobial secretions onto them. The tadpoles develop within the eggs until metamorphosis, when the froglets, still with tails, climb onto their father’s back. He carries them around for several weeks until metamorphosis is complete. When attacked, adults assume a stiff-legged defensive posture. An intensive conservation program seeks to protect Archey’s Frog by breeding it in captivity and releasing young animals into the wild.
SIMILAR SPECIES
There are four species in the genus Leiopelma; all are restricted to New Zealand and have declined dramatically in recent years, largely because of the disease chytridiomycosis. They are nocturnally active and lack the vocal apparatus necessary to produce a mating call. Hochstetter’s Frog (L. hochstetteri) is the most widespread species but is classed as Vulnerable. It lays its eggs in water. See also Hamilton’s Frog (here).
Archey’s Frog is variable in color, being green or brown with dark patches. It has smooth skin, a broad head, and round pupils. There are numerous defensive granular glands in the skin, notably in six longitudinal rows on the back. Fossil evidence suggests that Archey’s Frog and its relatives have changed little for 200 million years, making them living fossils.
LEIOPELMA HAMILTONI
HAMILTON’S FROG
(MCCULLOCH, 1919)
ADULT LENGTH
Male
up to 111 /16 in (43 mm)
Female
up to 2 in (52 mm)
Formerly widespread on both of New Zealand’s main islands, Hamilton’s Frog has been largely wiped out, initially through predation by rats and other introduced predators, and more recently by the disease chytridiomycosis. It is now confined to the tiny Stephens Island (Takapourewa) in the Cook Strait, where it survives in an area of just 6,500 sq ft (600 sq m). Males lack a vocal apparatus and do not call. During mating, the female produces 7–19 large eggs in a string, which are guarded by the male. The tadpoles develop within the eggs, which hatch to produce tiny froglets that are carried by the
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