Pick a vertebrate animal and tell me a bit about it and why

Pick a vertebrate animal and tell me a bit about it and why you think it\'s really cool or interesting. You should include the common name and its scientific name... You might include something about physiology or behavior or its habitat etc.

Solution

All vertebrates have a backbone or spinal column called as vertebrae. Frog is one such vertebrate. It is a tailless, short vertebrate with long hind legs for leaping. the most interesting thing about frogs is that they have a body which is adapted to living on both, land and sea. Also, they can go without food for months when in hibernation. They usually prefer wet, moist and rainy weather, during which they choose to breed. Several species of frog exist all over the world.

The most popular in and around Asia is the one called Hoplobatrachus tigerinus. In India, they are popularly referred to as Rana tigrina, because of the patchy stripes on its back that resemble the stripes of tigers. As most frogs, the Rana tigrina is also found mostly in freshwater wetlands and aquatic habitats. They can range from 5 cm to 17 cm in length and weigh between 25 to 500 g.

They have a peculiar physiology that enables them to live both, in water and on land, equally comfortably. They have webbed feet that enable them to swim in water. They primarily feed on insects and have a long sticky tongue to trap the insects. When they sense insects in the vicinity, they either sticks out its long tongue and stay motionless till the insect accidently sit on the sticky tongue and is unable to move, or the frog will itself lash out its tongue to wrap the insect and ingest within moments. They have large bulging eyes that have wide panoramic view. The ears are in the form of a tympanic membrane and are not visible like the pinna in other animals such as humans. The skin is very moist and slippery. They have adequate fats reserves which help feed them during hibernation.