There are loads of different animals in the world, and they all form part of huge complicated ecosystems that make life on Earth work! It doesn't matter how squishy or pointy animals are, we need to learn about them because we're part of this world too! So why not start your journey of discovery with frogs! The ribbity, jumping croakers themselves! Let's go!

1. Frogs are OLD!

There is fossil evidence of frogs being around for over 200 million years! That’s just as old as the dinosaurs, and much older than T-Rex which is a child compared to frogs, only appearing 90 million years ago!

2. There are lots of species!

Lots of frog species live in remote parts of the world and scientists are always finding new ones! So far, they’ve managed to count and describe 6,000 different species! That’s a lot of frogs - unfortunately, lots of them are at risk of extinction!

3. Frogs were the first land animals to make noise!

The amazing frog was the first land animal to evolve to have vocal chords! Scientists have found fossilised remains of super old frogs where these parts of their body can still be seen! Cool right?!

4. Frogs are cold blooded!

This means that the blood inside of them changes along with the environment around them. The colder the temperature, the slower the organs in their body work, the fancy word for this is metabolism. Hot = faster metabolism, cold = slower metabolism!

5. Baby frogs are called Tadpoles!

Tadpoles are the first stage of a frog’s life after they come out of the eggs! Tadpoles swim around using their tail until their body changes shape as they get older! Another name for the egg stage of a frog is frogspawn!

6. Frogs like water!

Frogs are amazing swimmers and spend most of their life in or near water. Almost all frogs need to live in freshwater and don’t like it if the water is salty! The only one that can live in salty water is the Florida Leopard Frog, but they still prefer freshwater!

7. Some frogs can freeze and survive!

The Wood frog lives in the Arctic Circle and when it gets really cold can freeze up to 65% of its body and be ok! It very cleverly uses sugars in its blood to keep its important organs from getting too cold even if the rest of its body is completely frozen!

8. Frogs have amazing eyesight!

They can see really well at night, and because their bulging eyes stick out of their head, they can see in almost every direction around them at the same time! Can you imagine that!?

9. Some frogs can be deadly!

The poisonous skin of the Golden Poison Dart Frog is incredibly dangerous - it is so toxic that other animals in the rain forest don’t even think about eating it! The poison in one frog can kill 3 adults in minutes! Eeeek!

10. A group of frogs is called an army!

Words like these are called ‘collective nouns’ and there are lots of them! For example, ‘a cast of crabs’, ‘a flock of birds’, ‘a gaggle of geese’ - but an army of frogs is pretty hard to beat!

11. The biggest frog in the world is the Goliath Frog

The gigantic Goliath Frog lives in West Africa and can weigh as much as a newborn baby! That’s pretty big for a frog!

12. Frogs absorb water through their skin!

Unlike us with a delicious glass of ice cold water, frogs don’t need to drink - instead they absorb water through their skin! Sounds gross, but frogs probably think the same about us!

13. Some frogs can hibernate for 7 years!

Frogs often go to sleep for really long times when there isn’t enough water, this is called hibernation. The Australian Water-Holding Frog can hibernate for as long as 7 whole years - now that’s a lie-in!

14. Frogs have muscly legs!

We all know that frogs love jumping, in fact some species can jump 20 times their own size! But to do that they need to have strong legs, in many frogs, their leg muscles make up 17% of their whole weight!

15. Some frogs wake up when they hear thunder!

For frogs that live in really dry places, they’re almost always waiting for rain - often going into hibernation as they wait. Some frogs, even when they’re asleep, will listen out for the sound of thunder, which will wake them up because they know rain is coming!