Download A1.34_Rana_catesbeia..

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A1.34 Rana catesbeiana (frog)
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Cells have DNA
Cells have a nucleus in them
Cells have mitochondria
Multicellular
Cells are held together with collagen.
Sexual reproduction
Early embryo forms as a hollow ball of cells called a blastula
This blastula opens into a tube “tail end first”
Has a head and is bilaterally symmetrical (you can draw one
line down the middle)
Cells organize themselves into true tissues (muscle, nerves)
Cells organize themselves into true organs (heart, liver,
stomach)
Has a hollow space between the gut and outer body wall
where organs are (this space is called a coelem—
pronounced “see-lome”
Segmented body
Internal bony skeleton
Backbone, Spinal chord and braincase
Vertebrae were divided
Had jaws
Had lungs
Had paired appendages
Had four legs
Four fingered hand
Had to lay eggs in the water
Bony plates in roof of skull simplified
Large downturned sides in rear of the skull (“large
downturned pterygoid flange”)
Lobed structures on the sides of the back of the skull
(“exoccipitals form large bilobed occipital condyles”)
Improved hearing: Eardrum (tympanic membrane) is attached
to a flat bone structure present at the ear(“squamosal flange
in the ear”), probably allowing for better hearing out of the
water
Two openings on top of the skull behind the eyes
(interpterygoid openings)
Teeth have flexible bases
Rear legs larger and designed for jumping
Bullfrog
Rana catesbeiana
Description:
One of the so-called "true frogs", Bullfrogs are usually green to greenish-brown. Sometimes, partoicularly when found in
the South, they are spotted. Their eyes are gold or brown and they have a broad flat head and body. They grow on
average to be about 3 and a half to 6 inches (9-15 cm) long in bodylength (although there are records of some as big as 8
inches!!), legs add another 7-10 inches (17 - 25cm) to lenght!
Females have an eardrum (tympanum) the same size as their eye. Males eardrums are larger.
Habitat:
These guys are fairly simple as far as accomodations are concerned; a simple plastic box or aquarium with some shallow
water and a few rocks (such that the frog can climb out of the water) can work. The water depth depends on how big the
frog is; i.e. it should be deep enough to cover about half the frog. Gravel can be spread across the bottom to give the
frog a better grip. Temperature should be around 25-28�C (77-83�F)
Read more information on this subject in the Housing Your Pet Frog section.
(see the Frog Doctor for details on illness prevention.)
Diet:
This is where things get a bit hairy for my taste. These guys have a voracious appetite and will eat anything that it can
swallow, including invertebrates and small vertebrates such as mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, even turtles and other
frogs. Bullfrogs have teeth in the roof of their mouth and a muscular tongue capable of flipping prey into their mouth.
They'll eat lots and lots of really big bugs, fish (guppies, I am told, are pretty good feeders) and mice. Pretty much
anything that will fit in their mouths. Large insects and worms should be left on the rocks, though these guys will eat
them from the surface of the water too. Dead mice are best offered either by hand or using forceps (again, get the kind
with round balls on the ends so you don't risk injuring the frog when he lunges at the food!) It is generally recommended
that you house these frogs alone (except for breeding) in order to avoid cannibalism. Eeek!
(From http://allaboutfrogs.org/info/species/bullfrog.html 3/12/08)