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Megophrys tadpoles feed at the water surface using unusual funnel-shaped mouths. [5] Anatomy of a wood frog tadpole (Lithobates sylvaticus) As a frog tadpole matures it gradually develops its limbs, with the back legs growing first and the front legs second. The tail is absorbed into the body using apoptosis. Lungs develop around the time as ...
This frog has semi-aquatic tadpoles that live on wet rocks and moss. They move using their strong tails and hind back legs, which grow in sooner than other tadpoles' back legs. [ 1 ]
Tadpoles of this species are bright pink in color, with the color intensity dimming near the tail. They possess translucent pink fins and dark eyes. A distinct white stripe runs down the middle of the back. Tadpoles remain in compact clusters when swimming. The distal half of the tail moves up and down rapidly to propel the tadpole forward.
The tail fin and tip is fragile and will easily tear, which is seen as an adaptation to escape from predators which try to grasp them by the tail. [151] Tadpoles are typically herbivorous, feeding mostly on algae, including diatoms filtered from the water through the gills. Some species are carnivorous at the tadpole stage, eating insects ...
The life cycle of all amphibians involves a larval stage that is intermediate between embryo and adult. In most cases this larval stage is a limbless free-living organism that has a tail and is referred to as a tadpole, although in a few cases (e.g., in the Breviceps and Probreviceps genera of frogs) direct development occurs in which the larval stage is confined within the egg.
The tadpole has three pairs of external gills, no eyelids, a long body, a laterally flattened tail with dorsal and ventral fins and in some species limb-buds or limbs. Pond-type larvae may have a pair of rod-like balancers on either side of the head, long gill filaments and broad fins.
The tadpole of this species is considered unpalatable to many species that would commonly predate on tadpoles. They also exhibit behaviors to avoid predation. To avoid fish, the tadpoles will move to stream margins in order to make them inaccessible to the fish. The tadpoles will also reduce activity after sensing a fish's chemical cues. [21]
During the final stages of transformation when the tadpoles have four limbs and a tail, they stop feeding for a short time while their mouths widen and their digestive systems adjust from herbivorous to carnivorous. Pacific tree frogs mature quickly, and usually mate the season after metamorphosis. They can live up to eight years in captivity.