How Does a Tadpole Turn Into a Frog?
Swim through the surprising stages that turn a tiny tadpole into a hopping frog.
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Have you ever spotted a tiny tadpole wiggling through a pond and wondered how it could possibly become a frog? The adventure starts inside a jelly-like egg. When the egg hatches, a tadpole swims out with a long tail and no legs at all. It breathes underwater with gills, a little like a fish. As the tadpole grows, its back legs appear first, followed by its front legs. Inside its body, lungs develop so it can breathe air. Its tail gets smaller because the growing froglet uses the stored energy. At last, the young frog can hop onto land and return to the pond whenever it likes. That amazing change is called metamorphosis.
Inside the story
Scene by scene
Pause, look closer, and discover the science behind each part of the adventure.
Scene 0101
A tiny beginning
“Our story begins in a quiet pond, where tiny frogs are growing inside soft, jelly-like eggs.”
A group of frog eggs is called frogspawn. The clear jelly protects each developing embryo while still letting oxygen from the water reach it.
Scene 0202
The tadpole transforms
“The egg hatches into a tadpole. Soon, two little back legs sprout, and then two front legs join the team.”
This change is metamorphosis. A tadpole begins with gills for breathing in water, then develops lungs and legs as its body prepares for life on land.
Scene 0303
Ready to hop
“With four strong legs and only a tiny tail left, the froglet climbs onto a lily pad for its first look at the world above water.”
The tail does not simply fall off. The froglet's body absorbs it and reuses its nutrients for energy while the animal finishes growing.
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