You would be hard pressed to talk to somebody from here in the United States that didn’t have an experience with frogs growing up as a child. Whether it was catching them as a kid or having to cut one open during biology class in high school they are a part of American culture. But there are much more than the regular kinds that we see from time to time outside. In this article we are gonna talk about some of the most unique and bizarre types of frogs from around the world. I know some of these will be known by some of the readers but hopefully several of these will bring some new information to those at home.
The very first of these unique and bizarre types of frogs that we’re gonna discuss is the Striped Rocket Frog. As you can probably guess this one gets the name from it’s jumping ability. The Striped Rocket Frog is known to jump as far as 50 feet which is just flat out amazing in my opinion. Unlike most other animals they have a unique ability that allows them to propel themselves further than the muscles should allow for whatever reason and this is something that scientists are still researching to this day. It appears they actually build up power in their legs almost like a spring and this action has been compared to other creatures such as grasshoppers and crickets as well.
If you’ve ever seen a Poison Dart Frog then you probably are well aware of their beautiful colors and dangerous characteristics. For these reasons they make our unique and bizarre types of frogs countdown. They are most common in South and Central America in the jungle and swamp parts of those regions. Unlike most other frogs they have very bright colors and seemingly aren’t worried about hiding from predators. The reason for this is because they are actually poisonous and most animals know to stay away or pay the consequences. Several rural tribes are known to use this poison to make darts and arrows for hunting.
Next up we have the Australian Green Tree Frog which is one of the most unique and bizarre types of frogs but more common than the others mentioned thus far. This is probably one of the most popular types kept as a pet and even though it has green in its name they can also be brown or yellow. They usually remain quite small around 3 to 4 inches in length and feed on insects like ants and spiders. On rare occasion they have been known to eat their own and whatever can fit in their mouth. In my experiences this is the case with most frogs that they will each anything no matter how unique or bizarre as long as it fits inside their mouth.
Whenever I think about unique and bizarre types of frogs the African Dwarf Frog is one that almost instantly comes to mind. That would be because I had a pair of these bizarre frogs growing up and nearly everybody was so fascinated by all the things that they would do in aquarium. One thing worth mentioning here is that the African Dwarf is aquatic so it pretty much stays in the water. It absorbs oxygen in through the skin but also needs to swim up to the surface on occasion. They are usually only a couple inches long but can live up to 18 years in the right habitat. I remember one thing that always gained attention with mine was how they would actually hold and eat food with their hands.
The Colorado River Toad is one of the more unique and interesting types of frogs here in the United States. This is because of the poison they secrete and how people have been known to use this in various forms as a drug. Because of this reason the laws surrounding any handling or possession are strict. In its pure form the venom from this toad is powerful enough to kill a small dog. The most common way that people use the venom is to smoke it as it’s said to cause powerful hallucinations. This unique and bizarre creature can be found in most western states and can get up to 8 inches long.
The foreign relative of the Colorado River Toad is the Cane Toad which also has poisonous properties and characteristics. This one is on our unique and bizarre types of frogs list because of how it has impacted many smaller pacific countries. At one point it was considered a great form of pest control because it eats so many bugs and smaller creatures. However the downside here is that it’s bizarre poison kills predators that attack it which in turn causes a shift in the ecosystem. The tadpoles are known to be highly poisonous and are seen as an easy kill to most other animals which makes them a deadly trap.
Alright well that wraps up this unique and bizarre types of frogs countdown. There are several others to mention but perhaps that can be continued on another day. I hope the people at home got some useful information on the subject and those researching for a project at school or otherwise found some things that could be handy down the road. If haven’t seen any of these then go online and check them out to see what they look like especially the Poison Dart Frog like in the picture at the top. Perhaps there will be a unique and bizarre types of frogs countdown part two in the near future.
Source(s) – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poison_dart_frog , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litoria_nasuta , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White%27s_Tree_Frog , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_dwarf_frog , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_River_toad , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cane_toad
Reference:
- www.associatedcontent.com/article/1928236/unique_and_bizarre_types_of_lizards.html
- www.associatedcontent.com/article/1927500/bizarre_breed_of_bird.html
