| The Fowler's Toad is named for Samuel P. Fowler, a founder and curator of the Natural History Department at the Essex Institute in Salem, Mass, who discovered the then new species in 1843. Twenty years later, the species was officially described by Frederic Putnam, who never published his findings. This led to years of confusion about this species. |
 (Courtesy Peabody Museum, Salem, Mass) |
  | Frogs are a food source for many organisms, whether the frog is in the form of eggs, tadpoles, or adults. The predacious diving beetle, shown here, is a frog predator. This other Bullfrog tadpole has one of these beetle larvae or "water tigers" attached to it busily sucking the frog's juices away. |
| Kermit was right -- being green really isn't easy. This Bullfrog tadpole has lost a leg and tail to some aquatic predator. Some of the "deformed amphibians" that have been making so much news recently may be the result of such predation. However, other theories exist, some stating that the cause is parasites, while others blame chemicals. Please check out this "deformed amphibians" link for more information. |  |
 | Bullfrog tadpoles take two years before they develop into a frog with legs. By the second year, they can be quite a handful! |
| Bullfrogs, particularly females, often give an alarm scream when captured. Sometimes this startles a predator into dropping them. |  |
