This is the pencil version of my lightbulb frog. I have also included the penned version as well as the final colour design.
I have also included the images I used for reference.
This is the information I have gathered about frogs as well as some information about bioluminescence which is the chemical reaction that happens in animals that create light. I will use this information to write about my creature.
Pool Frog
Pelophylax lessonae - formerly Rana lessonae
Where to find them
Pool frogs were presumed
extinct in the wild in 1995, but have since been reintroduced at a single site
in East Anglia.
Identification
Pool frogs are extremely
variable in colour, although the type reintroduced to the UK are predominantly
brown with dark brown or black blotches over the back and a lighter, often
yellow, dorsal stripe.
Adults can grow up to 9cm in
length but males are significantly smaller. During the breeding season the
males have a loud call generated by a pair of inflatable pouches (vocal sacs)
each side of the mouth; a feature absent from the common frog Rana temporaria.
Lifecycle
Pool frogs breed much later in
the year than the common frog. Breeding coincides with the onset of warm nights
in May/June. The spawn ‘rafts’ are typically smaller than those of the common
frog, and individual eggs are brown above and yellowish below. Pool frogs (and
other members of the green frog 'complex') are known to bask in the sunshine on
even the hottest days.
Ecology Found in damp densely
vegetated areas. Prefer slow flowing waterways such as calm rivers, ponds
or marshes. Hibernates on land during the winter. Feed on a wide
range of invertebrates including spiders, insects, moths and flies.Small spawn
‘rafts’. Individual eggs are brown on top and yellowish underneath. Predators and other threats Threatened by drainage of
fenlands. Predators include Grass Snakes, herons, owls and some
wading birds.
Pool Frogs are very aquatic and spend much of the year in or
near the water; they also tend to bask in sunshine even on very hot days.
often difficult to
locate, as they will dive into water at the slightest disturbance.
The
pool frog is the rarest amphibian
in England and actually is thought to have been extinct in native environment
during the 1990s, but re-introduction programmes are now under-way.
The
northern pool frog is naturally found in
Sweden, Norway and on Britain's south-east coast where it inhabits natural
ponds found in forested or heathland areas. Much of the pool frog's native habitat has now been bulldozed
to create housing estates which led to the sharp decline and extinction of this
species on the British Isles.
Frogs are well known for their webbed feet, and the pool frog is no exception. Pool frogshave webbing (flaps of
skin) between their toes which not only assists the pool frog when swimming about in
the water but also gives these rare amphibians more grip when climbing about on
the slippery banks of the pond.
Like other frog species, pool frogs are carnivorous animals,
surviving on a diet that consists only of
other animals.
Pool frogs eat a wide variety of invertebrates including insects,
worms and spiders which they catch using their long sticky tongue, after having
watching their dinner patiently for some time.
Due to their large size and semi-aquatic lifestyle,
there are numerous different animalswhich prey on pool frogs in their natural
environment. Birds and small mammals are the most common predators of the pool frog,
along with foxes, cats, dogs and even largerbirds of prey.
Pool
Frog Facts
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Animalia
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Chordata
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Amphibia
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Anura
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Ranidae
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Pelophylax
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Pelophylax
Lessonae
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Amphibian
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Carnivore
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5cm -
9cm (1.9in - 3.5in)
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20g -
80g (0.7oz - 2.8oz)
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8km/h
(5mph)
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1 - 6
years
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Solitary
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Least
Concern
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Brown,
Green, Black, Yellow
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Permeable
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Favourite
Food:
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Insects
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Woodland
ponds
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1,500
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Insects,
Moths, Spiders
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Foxes,
Cats, Birds
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Spotted
patterned skin and pointed snout
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Defence
At first
sight, frogs seem rather defenceless because of their small size, slow
movement, thin skin, and lack of defensive structures, such as spines, claws or
teeth. Many use camouflage to avoid detection, the skin often being spotted or
streaked in neutral colours that allow a stationary frog to merge into its
surroundings. Some can make prodigious leaps, often into water, that help them
to evade potential attackers, while many have other defensive adaptations and
strategies.[108]
The skin
of many frogs contains mild toxic substances called bufotoxins to
make them unpalatable to potential predators. Most toads and some frogs have
large poison glands, the parotoid glands,
located on the sides of their heads behind the eyes and other glands elsewhere
on their bodies. These glands secrete mucus and a range of toxins that make
frogs slippery to hold and distasteful or poisonous. If the noxious effect is
immediate, the predator may cease its action and the frog may escape. If the
effect develops more slowly, the predator may learn to avoid that species in
future.[147] Poisonous frogs tend to advertise their toxicity with bright
colours, an adaptive strategy known as aposematism.
The poison dart frogs in the family Dendrobatidae do this. They are typically
red, orange, or yellow, often with contrasting black markings on their
bodies. Allobates zaparo is not poisonous, but
mimics the appearance of two different toxic species with which it shares a
common range in an effort to deceive predators.[148] Other species, such as the European fire-bellied toad (Bombina bombina),
have their warning colour underneath. They "flash" this when
attacked, adopting a pose that exposes the vivid colouring on their bellies.[6]
Some frogs, such as the poison dart frogs, are especially toxic. The native people of South America extract
poison from these frogs to apply to their weapons for hunting,[149] although
few species are toxic enough to be used for this purpose. At least two
non-poisonous species of frogs in tropical America (Eleutherodactylus gaigei and Lithodytes
lineatus) mimic the colouration of dart poison frogs for self-protection.[150][151] Some frogs obtain poisons from the ants and other arthropods they
eat.[152] Others, such as the Australian corroboree frogs (Pseudophryne corroboree and Pseudophryne
pengilleyi), can synthesize the alkaloids themselves.[153] The chemicals involved may be irritants, hallucinogens, convulsants, nerve poisons or vasoconstrictors. Many predators of frogs have become adapted to tolerate high levels of
these poisons, but other creatures, including humans who handle the frogs, may
be severely affected.[154]
Some frogs use bluff or deception.
The European common toad (Bufo bufo) adopts a characteristic stance when
attacked, inflating its body and standing with its hindquarters raised and its
head lowered.[155] The bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) crouches down with eyes
closed and head tipped forward when threatened. This places the parotoid glands
in the most effective position, the other glands on its back begin to ooze
noxious secretions and the most vulnerable parts of its body are protected.[108] Another tactic used by some frogs is to "scream", the
sudden loud noise tending to startle the predator. The gray tree frog (Hyla versicolor)
makes an explosive sound that sometimes repels the shrew Blarina brevicauda.[108] Although toads are avoided by many predators, the common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)
regularly feeds on them. The strategy employed by juvenile American toads (Bufo americanus)
on being approached by a snake is to crouch down and remain immobile. This is
usually successful, with the snake passing by and the toad remaining
undetected. If it is encountered by the snake's head, however, the toad hops
away before crouching defensively.[156]
Bioluminescence
Bioluminescence is the
production and emission of light by a living organism.
Bioluminescence occurs widely in marine vertebrates andinvertebrates, as
well as in some fungi,
microorganisms and terrestrial invertebrates. Some symbiotic organisms carried within larger organisms
produce light.
History
Before
the development of the safety
lamp for use
in coal mines, dried fish skins were used in Britain and Europe as a weak
source of light.[2][3]
Overview
Bioluminescence
is a form of luminescence, or
"cold light" emission by living organisms; less than 20% of the
light generates thermal
radiation. It should not be confused withiridescence, structural coloration, phosphorescence.
By
etymology, bioluminescence is a hybrid
word, originating from the Greek bios for "living" and the Latin lumen "light".
Bioluminescence
is a form of chemiluminescence where light energy is released by a
chemical reaction. Fireflies, anglerfish, and
other creatures produce the chemicals luciferin (apigment) and luciferase (an enzyme).[4] The luciferin reacts with oxygen to create light. The luciferase acts as a catalyst to speed up the reaction, which is
sometimes mediated by cofactors such as calcium ions or ATP. The chemical reaction can occur either inside or outside the
cell. In bacteria, the expression of genes related to bioluminescence is controlled by
an operon called
the Lux operon.[5]
Distribution
Bioluminescence
occurs widely among some groups of animals, especially in the open sea; in some
fungi and bacteria; and in various terrestrial invertebrates including insects.
Many, perhaps most deep-sea
animals produce
light. Most marine light-emission is in the blue and green light spectrum, the
wavelengths that pass furthest through seawater.
However, some loose-jawed
fish emit
red and infrared light, and the genus Tomopteris emits yellow light. Sometimes
thousands of square miles of the ocean shine with the light of bioluminescent
bacteria in the "Milky
seas effect".[6]
Non-marine
bioluminescence is less widely distributed. The two best-known forms of land
bioluminescence are fireflies and glow
worms. Other insects, insect larvae, annelids,arachnids and
even species of fungi have been noted to possess bioluminescent
abilities. Some forms of bioluminescence are brighter (or exist only) at night,
following a circadian
rhythm.
Uses in nature
Bioluminescence
has several functions in different taxa.
Counterillumination
camouflage[edit]
In
many animals of the deep sea, including several squid species, bacterial bioluminescence is used
for counterillumination camouflage, in
which the animal matches the overhead environmental light as seen from below.[7] In these animals, photoreceptors control
the illumination to match the brightness of the background.[7] These light organs are usually separate
from the tissue containing the bioluminescent bacteria. However, in one
species, Euprymna scolopes, the bacteria are an
integral component of the animal's light organ.[8]
Mimicry
Bioluminescence
is used as a lure to attract prey by several deep
sea fish such as
the anglerfish. A
dangling appendage that extends from the head of the fish
attracts small animals to within striking distance of the fish.[9]
The cookiecutter shark uses bioluminescence to camouflage its
underside, but a small patch near its pectoral fins remains dark, appearing as
a small fish to large predatory fish like tuna and mackerel swimming beneath it. When such fish
approach the lure, they are bitten by the shark.[10][11]
Dinoflagellates may use
bioluminescence for defence against predators. They
shine when they detect a predator, possibly making the predator itself more
vulnerable by attracting the attention of predators from higher trophic levels.[12] A South American giant cockroach,Lucihormetica luckae,
uses bioluminescence to mimic the toxic Pyrophorus beetle for defensive purposes.[13]
Attracting
mates
The
attraction of mates is seen actively in fireflies, which
use periodic flashing in their abdomens to attract mates in the mating season.[14]
In
the marine environment, use of luminescence for mate attraction is well
documented only in ostracods, small shrimplike crustaceans. Pheromones may be used for long-distance
communication, with bioluminescence used at close range to enable mates to
"home in".
Distraction
Certain squid and small crustaceans use bioluminescent chemical mixtures or
bacterial slurries in the same way as many squid use ink. A
cloud of luminescent material is expelled, distracting or repelling a potential
predator, while the animal escapes to safety.[citation needed]
Warning
Aposematism is a widely used function of
bioluminescence. It is suggested that many firefly larvae glow to repel
predators. Millipedes have been shown to glow for the same purpose.[16]
Communication
Communication
(quorum sensing) plays a role in the regulation of luminesence in many species
of bacteria. Using small extracellularly secreted molecules, they turn on genes
for light production only at high cell densities.[citation needed]
Illumination
While
most marine bioluminescence is green to blue, the Black Dragonfish produces a red glow. This
adaptation allows the fish to see red-pigmented prey, which are normally invisible
in the deep ocean environment where red light has been filtered out by the
water column.[17]
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