Frogs
Roaming on Earth for more than 260 million years, frogs are a diverse and primarily carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura.
A frog has a husky body, bulging eyes, creepy tongue, limbs folded under the body, and no tail. Frogs have epithelial skin, with secretions varying from distasteful to toxic. Their skin ranges in color from well-camouflaged dappled brown, grey, and green to striking patterns of bright red or yellow and black to show toxicity and scare hunters. Adult frogs live in freshwater and on dry land; some species are accustomed to living underground or trees.
Legs
The structure of the frog’s legs differs considerably among frog species, depending on whether they live mainly in the water, on the ground, in trees, or tunnels. Frogs must be able to move swiftly through their environment to capture prey and evade predators, and various arrangements help them do so. Most frogs are either skilled at jumping or are evolved from ancestors that were, with much of the musculoskeletal morphology modified for this purpose.
Propelled by their extended legs, many frogs can jump more than 15 times their body length. Let’s look at how these wonders of nature leap with precision.
Through observations and science, it is confirmed that the hinge-like joint in the pelvis, which is unique to frogs, plays a vital role in jumping. The joint cracks to let the frog reveal like a flip phone so that in the air, the animal’s long, sturdy legs and short rigid torso straighten like a straight, soaring arrow.
The role of muscle in jumping
Videos from the wild reveal that the muscles have passive flexibility. They are first extended while the frog is still in the bent state, then they are contracted before being pulled again to launch the frog into the air. The forelegs are enveloped against the chest, and the hind legs remain in the long, sleek position for the duration of the jump.
Frogs are blessed with a modified muscular system. The hind limbs of ancestral frogs probably included sets of muscles that would act in opposition, as seen in most other limbed animals. However, in modern frogs, almost all tissues have been altered to add to the movement of jumping, with only a few tiny muscles remaining to take the limb back to the offset position and maintain posture. The muscles have also been considerably enlarged, with the leading leg muscles holding over 17% of the total mass of frogs.
