Product Description
Our Plastic Bullfrog Replica This plastic toy frog is one of our many museum-quality replicas made by Safari, Ltd. Isn't it beautiful? This frog is so realistic-looking you could mistake it for real frog. It would make a marvelous addition to a museum display, a science project, a larger diorama, or put this frog in a terrarium and pretend that it's real. This frog is a very good size for teaching children about amphibians and other denizens of lakes, ponds, and rivers. Measuring 5 inches long from its nose to where its back legs band behind the body, this frog fits comfortably into an adult hand and is large enough to be a lot of fun for children. The frog stands 2 3/4 inches tall from the ground to the top of its head. It has shiny eyes and an amused smile. This bullfrog is made of slightly flexible plastic. It's strong and sturdy and it won't break, but the toes will bend and you can squeeze it very slightly. Please see our other frogs as well as our great selection of reptile and amphibian toys, gifts, teaching tools, and novelties.
The natural range of the American bullfrog includes the southern United States and much of the American Midwest, ranging through New England into parts of southeastern Canada. However, the areas inhabited by this frog are now several times greater than its original native range. Through introduction, the bullfrog now inhabits virtually all of North America, about health of South America, most of Western Europe including parts of the UK and most of China. The bullfrog is known by two different scientific names. The name used before 2006 was Rana catesbeiana, but it is now believed that it should be included in the genus Lithobates as Lithobates catesbeiana. Our plastic frog is probably a male, as the throat of the mail turns yellow during mating season. On the other hand, the throat of the female turns white. Bullfrogs come in a variety of colors. The color of our plastic bullfrog is true to the coloration of some members of the species. When I was growing up in Southern California, the bullfrogs I saw in streams in the countryside were less yellow, generally with a dark green body and black markings. As with all frogs, they begin as tadpoles. It's remarkable to watch them change shape and turning to the adult form you see here. Bullfrogs take between two and three years to develop from a tadpole. The female lays about 20,000 eggs. It only takes about four days for them to hatch tiny tadpoles or polliwogs. Tadpoles can fend for themselves right away, feeding on algae and other plant matter in the water. The tadpoles tail serves several functions. Not only does it help the tadpole swim, but it is used as a fat storage keep the tadpole alive during lean months. They grow and develop slowly compared to the tadpoles of some other frog and toad species. The bullfrog's metamorphosis may take anywhere between two and five years. The frogs typically develop legs in their second year. Their tails shrink, they begin to lose their gills, and finally they emerge from the water as air-breathing adults. One of the factors that determines the length of time a frog spends as a tadpole is temperature. If it's too cold outside, the tadpole's development will slow down until the weather warms up and it can live on land. Although tadpoles are vegetarians, adult bullfrogs are carnivores. They will eat anything they can fit into their gaping mouths, from insects to small mammals. An adult bullfrog may measure as long as 8 inches and live up to about eight or nine years in the wild. In captivity they have lived to about 13 years.