Life Cycle of a Frog Concept Map
Frogs lay their eggs in
water or wet places. A floating clump of
eggs is called frog spawn (tooter4kids.com). These clumps of eggs are usually too big to
be eaten by a fish or animal. This is
why frogs lay many eggs at a time. The
cells in the eggs keep splitting until an embryo is eventually formed. The embryo gets nutrients from the egg yolk
and develops for 21 days, then a tadpole hatches.
A. laid
in water or land
B. Covered
in a jelly-like substance
II. Tadpole
After the embryo leaves
its egg, it is called a tadpole. It
looks like a tiny fish with a long tail.
A tadpole is defenseless in the wild and it uses camouflage to protect
itself. It often hides out in plants in
the water and feeds on algae. Tadpoles start to grow legs in about five weeks.
A. Feed
on Algae
1. also
still get nutrients from yolk in its belly
B. Has
gills, a mouth, and a tail
III. Tadpole
with legs
The tadpole gets its
hind legs first, and then its forelegs.
When the tadpole is at this stage, its tail becomes larger so it can
swim and catch food. Some tadpoles even
eat frog eggs and other tadpoles (tooter4kids.com)
A. Grows
legs after 6-9 weeks and the body elongates
B. Feeds
on larger items like dead insects and even plants
IV. Young
Frog/ Froglet
After a while, the
tadpole starts to resemble a frog more and more. At this stage, it is called a
froglet. A froglet's tail is much
smaller and its mouth widens. The lungs
are starting to develop now.
A. Looks
like a miniature version of an adult frog
B. Tail
becomes stubby
V. Frog
It takes 11 weeks for an
egg to turn into a fully developed adult frog.
There is no tail and the lungs are fully functioning. the frog will spend most of its time on land
while still making frequent visits to the water or wet areas.
A. no
longer looks like a tadpole
1. Tail
and Gills are gone
B. Female
frog lays eggs and starts cycle all over again
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