Common frog
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Common frog
Amphibian
Collective name: an army
An amphibian commonly found in ponds and damp grassy areas across Europe.
💡 Fun Facts
- They absorb water through their skin, so they don't need to drink.
- They hibernate during the winter in muddy pond bottoms or compost heaps.
- Their eyes are on top of their head, allowing them to see while mostly submerged.
Name Story
Rana temporaria
means “the frog of the temples (the dark eye-mask) — or 'the seasonal frog'”
likely meaningRana ('frog') is settled, but the meaning of temporaria is not agreed. The neat 'temples = dark eye-mask' reading is plausible and often repeated, yet it is an interpretation rather than a documented statement by Linnaeus; 'temporary/seasonal' is the other reading offered in the literature. Both are given; neither is certain.
What does its name mean?
- Rana — a frogLatin
- temporaria — of the temples (the sides of the head) — or 'temporary, seasonal'Latin (tempora, 'the temples', or temporarius, 'temporary')
'Rana' is just Latin for 'frog'. The second word, 'temporaria', is a bit of a puzzle: it might point to the dark patch, like a little mask, behind the frog's eye, or it might mean 'seasonal', because frogs appear in big numbers for just a short time each spring. Even the experts aren't sure which!
📄 Educational Handout Available
Download the printable infographic: Frogs and Toads