THE ANIMAL FILES

Common frog

Rana temporaria

One pond, two very different menus.

A common frog does not eat the same way throughout its life.[1]

Follow the evidence ↓
Common frog
Image: Richard Bartz, Munich aka Makro Freak Image:MFB.jpg · Commons · CC BY-SA 2.5
A changing menu
Young froglets take small arthropods.[1]
Waiting for opportunity
Adults are opportunistic predators.[1]
A pond nursery
Eggs are laid in aggregations.[1]

A changing menu

Tadpoles feed largely on algae and decomposing plant material, with animal food becoming important during later development. Newly transformed froglets eat tiny arthropods such as springtails and small fly larvae.[1]

Waiting for opportunity

Adults often wait for prey to enter catching range, and their diet follows what is available through the seasons. Larger frogs can handle larger prey; smaller recent metamorphs face a narrower menu. Damp daytime hiding places and nighttime feeding also connect the animal's daily routine with its surroundings.[1]

A pond nursery

Egg masses bring developing embryos together in shallow pond water. Temperature influences development, so populations need not follow an identical calendar.[1]

A COMMON MIX-UP

Are tadpoles simply tiny frogs with the same diet?

No. Feeding changes during development, and young froglets move towards small animal prey after metamorphosis.[1]

TRY A LITTLE REASONING

Why might a tiny froglet and a large frog catch different prey beside the same pond?

Reveal the explanation

Their size changes what they can catch and swallow. Shared habitat does not give animals of different developmental stages identical feeding opportunities.[1]

Sources & editorial notes

Adapted and translated from the cited Wikipedia revisions, with source-linked reasoning. Image credit and licence are listed separately above.

Adapted and translated from Wikipedia contributors; exact revisions are linked below. CC BY-SA 4.0

  1. Wikipedia contributors — Common frog (cited revision)
  2. NCBI Taxonomy — Rana temporaria

Last fact check:

One discovery leads to another

Moor frogA male’s blue breeding colour is a brief appearance, not its year-round coat.Rana arvalis ↗American bullfrogA pond chorus is a moving social scene.Aquarana catesbeiana ↗Marsh frogThe tadpole’s menu is not the adult frog’s menu.Pelophylax ridibundus ↗