Things You Need to Know About Common UK Frogs!
In this we take a close look at the Common frog. Including what common frogs eat, where they live, how they breed and much, much more.
Here is the script from the video:
The Common frog is the UKs most widespread amphibian and can be found in any habitat where fresh water is available. Just like in most other frog and toad species, the female common frog grows larger than the male. Females can grow to have a body length of upto 13cm whereas the males reach only around 9cm. They can vary in colour from light green, to dark brown, bright red and sometimes albinos are also spotted in the wild. The legs and body have darker blotches and stripes and there are two lighter coloured, slightly raised ridges running down each side of their backs. During the spring, the males develop a bluey creamy coloured chin and dark pads on their thumbs known as nuptial pads.
Although common frogs are most noticeable in the spring when they migrate en-masse to their breeding ponds, they actually spend most of the year on land. Throughout the summer and autumn they often hide away throughout the day under rocks and logs, or amongst dense leaves and vegetation but come out in the night to find their prey. As adults they are strictly carnivorous and will eat a wide range of insects, beetles, worms, slugs and snails. During the winter, the females and most males hibernate on land, but as they can breath through their skin, some males hibernate at the bottom of ponds. This helps them to be there ready for the spring when the females arrive.
As the days get longer and warmer, throughout spring, all the common frogs in an area will migrate to pools of fresh water to spawn. During this time the males will grapple with one another to grab hold of the females round the waist in a position known as amplexus. This can last from a few hours to several days and during this time the males use their nuptial pad thumbs to not only grip onto the females, but also to deposit a hormone onto her skin known as amplexin. This encourages her to release between 1 and 2000 eggs which are then fertilized externally. When they are first laid the entire clump of is about the size of a golf ball, but each egg is surrounded by a thin layer of jelly that swells up over the next few hours to create what is recognised as frog spawn. Each male can breed with multiple females in one spring, but each female will only lay eggs once a year, so after spawning she usually leaves the breeding pool straight away. From here the spawn develops into tadpoles that start life without any legs and external gills. The process as a tadpole changes into a froglet is known as metamorphosis and there is a video on my channel that covers it in great detail. Once the froglets are fully formed, they leave the breeding pool to spend 2 to 4 years growing before they are old enough to breed themselves.
Common frogs have suffered a severe decline over the last 30 years with several diseases wiping through their populations. They are also extremely susceptible to changes in land use and to predation from cats and various natural predators. If they survive metamorphosis and are not predated the average life span for a common frog is from 5 to 10 years.
If you want to encourage frogs to your area, creating a pond and making sure wildlife can get into your garden are the two greatest things you can do.
My name is Mark and the senior editor
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