Beautiful Color in Nature: Frogs and Toads

They probably aren’t something you immediately think of when thinking of beautiful colors in nature… but from poison arrows to woodland dwellers, the world of frogs and toads is loaded with color. Used as camouflage or a warning of toxicity, the ranges seem unlimited. A COLOURlover, fazai38 used them for inspiration and created some great color palettes…

18 Colorful Frogs, Toads & Amphibian Fun Facts

green and black poison dart frog     BlackSpot Green Frog

Despite being called ‘poisonous,’ only a few frogs carry enough poison to kill a human, and they wouldn’t actively seek out a human. The poisons would only affect the human in contact with them if handled or eaten.


blue poison arrow frog     Blue spot Frog

Frogs use a variety of ways to attract a mate such as courtship calls, body colour and limb movements.

golden frog pair     MultiColor Spot Frog

Frogs can live equally well on land or water, despite popular belief that they live only in water, and toads only on land.

old toad     Old Wood Frog

At last count there were over 5,000 species of frogs worldwide, but scientists continue to find new ones every year.

orange striped and spotted frog     stripe + spot Frog

Amphibians must shed their skin as they enlarge in size. The old skin is discarded like a piece of clothing that has become too tight and is usually eaten.

blue poison arrow frog     The Blue Frog

The smallest frog may be a species of Cuban frog, in the genus Eleutherodactylus, which only grows to be less than 1/2 inch long.

frog and crocodile     The Freshy Frog

Most frogs absorb all of their water through their skin. Many have a special patch on the belly for water retention.

golden toad     The Glossy Frog

The largest frog in the world is the Goliath Frog. Its body can grow up to a foot, and its legs grow at least that long.

the red frog     The Red Frog

The oldest frog fossil found was from the Age of Dinosaurs and frogs, as you may have noticed, have outlived the dinosaurs.

strawberry poison arrow frog     The Red Head Frog

It actually can rain frogs when water from a pond containing frogs is sucked up by a wind storm like a tornado, and deposited elsewhere.

the stone frog     The Stone Frog

Toads are frogs. “Toad” is typically used to describe a member of the frog family Bufonidae. It is actually impossible to contract warts from a toad. Whether thickened skin or specialised glands, they are not contagious.

yellow poison arrow frog     Tiger Spot Frog

Tree frogs have developed disks or adhesive pads on the toes of their feet to help them climb into the tree canopy.

red-eyed tree frog     red-eyed tree frog

Frogs can lay anywhere between only a few eggs and 30,000 at one time. The difference is in response to the egg-laying environment, based on the amount of predators, the size of the mother, and climate.

grey frog     grey frog

Some frogs can survive in conditions well below freezing. The Grey Tree Frog, for example, can survive even though its heart stops. By making its own ‘antifreeze,’ its body will never freeze completely.

green-yellow frog     green-yellow frog

Like most of the animal or plant kingdoms, this frog’s skin is an indicator of poison. Meant to serve as a history lesson, after one eats a blue frog and becoming sick, those observing will follow by not eating blue frogs.

purple frog     purple fluorescent

The Colorado River Toad and the Cane Toad were once popular gateway drugs. When agitated, both secrete a hallucinogenic chemical through the skin. Licking that skin became incredibly popular, but the party practice could be fatal – some toads emit a cardiac toxin.

christmas tree frog     The Transparent Frog

Frogs can be found almost anywhere except the Antartica. However, most species are found in tropical regions. More frogs are found in warmer countries.

striped marsh frog     WoodyStripe Frog

Frogs can breathe by means of the lungs and also through their skin. This is because of the way their heart is formed. It has three chambers instead of the normal four

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Author: ruecian