FROGS AND TOADS HAVE SPECIAL TRAITS
Q. You recently provided facts about salamanders. What can you tell us about frogs and toads?
How are they different from other animals? What makes them special?
SALAMANDERS HAVE UNUSUAL TRAITS
Q. Salamanders come in many colors and are widespread yet they seem to be one of the least appreciated groups of animals. Most of my friends have never even seen one. What interesting facts could I tell them about salamanders?
FOR SOME ANIMALS, VALENTINE’S DAY IS THE BEGINNING OF SPRING
Valentine’s Day is almost upon us, bringing to mind the words of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, “In the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.” If he had written that today instead of 1835, he would probably have mentioned “a young woman’s fancy” as well. And had he been an ecologist rather than poet laureate of Britain, he might have noted that as days grow longer and nights get shorter, courtship and romantic engagement in the Northern Hemisphere become prevalent throughout the animal kingdom. Some performances are already underway.
HOW CAN A GREEN FROG BE BLUE?
Q. You once wrote that blue pigment is not known to exist in any terrestrial or freshwater animals with backbones. I found a blue bullfrog in a marsh in Virginia. It was mostly blue with some gray blotches; it did not have green anywhere on its body. How do you explain the appearance of a frog like this?