Facts about Wood Frogs

1. 08

   Their eardrums, called tympana, are located externally on the sides of their heads and are larger than their eyes, allowing wood frogs to detect low-frequency sounds during mating season.

   Wood FrogsMay 14shareanatomysensorybreeding
2. 07

   Male wood frogs produce advertisement calls year-round, but their chorus during breeding season can be heard up to 1 kilometer away across wetland landscapes.

   Wood FrogsMay 14sharebehaviorcommunicationsensory
3. 06

   Wood frogs possess a unique protein in their liver that allows them to metabolize glucose into a cryoprotectant, enabling survival in temperatures reaching minus 8 degrees Celsius during winter dormancy.

   Wood FrogsMay 14sharebiologychemistryadaptation
4. 05

   Ranidae family members like wood frogs possess specialized toe pads that lack webbing at the tips, allowing them to climb vegetation and tree trunks up to 4 meters high during their breeding season.

   Wood FrogsMay 14shareanatomybehavioradaptation
5. 04

   In northeastern North America, wood frogs breed in ephemeral pools that lack fish predators, allowing tadpoles to develop in just 60 to 90 days before the ponds dry up.

   Wood FrogsMay 14sharereproductionhabitatadaptation
6. 03

   A wood frog's call sounds like a quacking duck and can reach volumes of 80 decibels during the breeding season from March to May.

   Wood FrogsMay 14sharebiologybehaviorsound
7. 02

   During spring migration, wood frogs can travel up to 0.5 miles from their winter hibernation sites to reach breeding ponds.

   Wood FrogsMay 14sharebehaviormigrationmeasurement
8. 01

   Below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, wood frogs can survive with up to 70 percent of their body water frozen solid due to cryoprotectant glucose in their cells.

   Wood FrogsMay 14sharebiologysurvivalmeasurement