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| Common Frog, Rana temporaria |
I shouldn't have doubted. The tadpoles in the 'temporary pool' that I didn't think would survive..... have survived. Not only survived but metamorphosed into frogs. None were visible in the puddle that sheltered them as tadpoles, but I spotted a number of them in the undergrowth next to it. It seems that the wetter than usual summer has been a boon for them, maintaining water bodies that may otherwise have dried up. Individuals were not more than 2 cm in length, as can be seen from the picture below. The frogs are about 4 months old, based on average spawning dates for Rana temporaria in Ireland (1) and the size of the tadpoles when they were first spotted in May. However, I wouldn't try to put an exact age on them based on size.
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| Common Frog, Rana temporaria |
Other than the obvious external changes, R. temporaria adults also have quite different stomachs to their tadpole stage. The gastric mucosa is removed and a new adult, definitive one develops, along with peripheral connective and muscular tissues (2).
References:
References:
- Sterry, 2004. Collins Complete Guide to Irish Wildlife p. 94
Rovira et al., 1995. Tissue Cell 27 pp. 13-22
I used to have a small artificial lake at the garden when I was a child and it was always nice to follow the development of the tadpoles until they became those nice little frogs (from a different species, of course =) ).
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