Frogs and toads have special traits

Q. Last year, you provided facts about salamanders. What can you tell us about frogs and toads? How are they different from other animals? What makes them special?

A. Salamanders, although abundant in the Southeast, are amphibians with which few people have firsthand knowledge. But almost everyone is familiar with frogs and toads. The 54 families and 7,566 species of frogs and toads have many overlapping biological characteristics. Herpetologists lump the two together as a single group known as “anurans.” They have certain notable traits that set them apart in the animal kingdom.

1. In general, anurans differ from most other terrestrial vertebrates (mammals, birds, reptiles, salamanders) in that the young’s diet differs dramatically from the adult’s. Frogs and toads in the U.S. have some of the most eclectic diets imaginable. All adults are carnivorous, whereas tadpoles — the larval aquatic stage of development — are generally herbivorous. Tadpoles commonly eat algae or…