Differences Between Tadpoles & Frogs

Frogs have lungs that allow them to breathe air.

Frogs start out their life as eggs. A female frog lays the eggs, and a male frog then fertilizes the eggs. The fertilized eggs will generally take one to three weeks to hatch. What hatches from the eggs is called a tadpole. As the tadpole ages and matures, it goes through a process called metamorphosis. Throughout this phase, the body of the tadpole gradually transforms into a frog.

Diet

When the tadpole first hatches, it is too frail to find food on its own. Luckily, the remainder of the yolk from its egg is in its stomach when it hatches; this sustains the tadpole for its first week of life. Once it develops strength and coordination, the tadpole will begin to feed on algae and other underwater foliage. At around two months into its life, its diet of plants is supplemented by bugs and small organisms.

Soon after, the tadpole becomes a frog. Young frogs will still eat a diet that includes algae and foliage. As they mature, they become better at hunting live prey. Eventually, the staple of the diet of a frog is bugs and worms. A frog’s sticky tongue traps insects. Though their diet consists mainly of bugs, some frogs have been known to eat small fish.

Body Structure

A tadpole starts out as a body mass with an elongated tail. As metamorphosis takes effect, it begins sprouting legs and arms and grows small teeth that allow it to eat algae and small bugs. The body elongates, and the tail shrinks. The main difference, however, in the body structure of a tadpole is that it has gills. Gills allow the tadpole to breathe underwater. This is important because it does not have legs and arms yet, or the muscular structure to support itself on land.

Frogs have a strong muscular structure that allows them to be mobile both on land and in the water. Their hind legs are long and powerful, and their feet are webbed for greater swimming efficiency. Most importantly, mature frogs breathe through lungs instead of gills. Mature frogs can no longer breathe under water.

Movement

Tadpoles have one way of moving: swimming. Tadpoles will stay in the water until they evolve into frogs. Young tadpoles are not very proficient swimmers and attach themselves to foliage until they are more developed. As they mature, the tadpoles begin to learn to swim by moving their tails back and forth.

Frogs, on the other hand, can both swim and hop. The difference between a frog swimming and a tadpole swimming is the means of propulsion. Tadpoles use their tails, but frogs have no tails. Frogs use their hind legs and propel themselves forward in a kicking motion. On land, frogs can move by hopping around, something that tadpoles are not capable of.

References

• Encyclopedia.com: Tadpole Facts
• All About Frogs: Life Cycle of a Frog
• Tooter 4 Kids: Life Cycle of Frogs
• Enchanted Learning: Frogs and Toads