Tadpole of Littlejohn's Tree Frog (Litoria littlejohni)

A tadpole (also known as a pollywog, poliwag or polliwog) is the wholly aquatic larval stage in the life cycle of an amphibian. Tadpole may refer to: A tadpole is a pollywog Tadpole is a 2002 film directed by Gary Winick about a boy who falls in love with an older woman. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2352x1296, 163 KB) Littlejohns Tree Frog (Litoria littlejohni) tadpole. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2352x1296, 163 KB) Littlejohns Tree Frog (Litoria littlejohni) tadpole. ... Binomial name Litoria littlejohni White, Whitford & Mahony, 1994 Distribution of the Littlejohns Tree Frog. ... ‹ The template below (Citations missing) is being considered for deletion. ...

Description

During the tadpole stage of the amphibian life cycle, most breathe by means of autonomous external or internal gills. They do not usually have arms or legs until the transition to adulthood, and typically have dorsal or fin-like appendages and a tail with which they swim by lateral undulation, similar to most fish. As tadpoles mature, they most commonly metamorphosize by gradually growing limbs and then (most commonly in the case of frogs) outwardly absorbing its tail by apoptosis, Lungs develop around the time of leg development and tadpoles late in development will often be found near the surface of the water where they breathe air. During the final stages of external metamorphosis, the tadpole's mouth changes from a small enclosed mouth at the front of the head to a large mouth the same width as the head. The intestines shorten to make way for the new diet. For other uses, see Gill (disambiguation). ... Lateral undulation is the most primitive of vertebrate locomotor patterns, present even in hagfish, lampreys, and lancelets. ... A cicada in the process of shedding. ... A section of mouse liver showing an apoptotic cell indicated by an arrow Apoptosis (pronounced apo tō sis) is a process of suicide by a cell in a multicellular organism. ...

A rare exception to the rule distinct differences between the tadpole (juvenile) and adult (frog, toad, salamander etc) stages is the axolotl. Axolotls exhibit a property called neoteny, meaning that they reach sexual maturity without undergoing metamorphosis. Binomial name (Shaw, 1789) The Axolotl (or ajolote) (Ambystoma mexicanum) is the best-known of the Mexican neotenic mole salamanders belonging to the Tiger Salamander complex. ... Neoteny describes a process by which paedomorphism is achieved, and is a subject studied in the field of developmental biology. ... Sexual maturity is the age/stage when an organism can reproduce. ...

Diet

Most tadpoles are herbivorous, subsisting on algae and plants. Some species are omnivorous, eating detritus and, whenever available, other tadpoles. Detritus may refer to: In geology, detritus is the name for loose fragments of rock that have been worn away by erosion. ...

External links

• How to Raise Tadpoles
• Raising Tadpoles to Adulthood (University of California Berkeley)