DESCRIPTIVE PARAGRAPHS
II
Grade 5
Write three descriptive
paragraphs about bullfrogs.
The topic sentence for each paragraph is given to you.
Read about bullfrogs here.
Bullfrogs
Fast Facts
Size: 3.5-6 in.
Description: green to
greenish-brown; bullfrogs of the South are often spotted. Irises of eyes gold
or brown. Both head and body are flattened and broad. The tympanum (eardrum)
of the male is larger than that of the female.
Life span: average 4 to 5 years
Range: Nova Scotia to central Florida, west to Wisconsin and the Rockies;
Habitat: vegetation along the edge of large, slow moving, bodies of
freshwater.
Diet: voracious appetite, will eat almost anything that moves and that it can
swallow, including invertebrates and small vertebrates such as mammals, birds,
reptiles, fish, even turtles and other frogs.
Fun Facts
- Bullfrogs are capable of
leaping 3-6 ft.
- Bullfrogs are territorial
and protect their territories by calls, displays, chases, jump attacks,
and even wrestling. Females are attracted to males with the territories
that provide the most food.
- A female bullfrog may lay
up to 25,000 small eggs that are held together at the surface of the
water.
- Bullfrogs have teeth in
the roof of their mouth and a muscular tongue capable of flipping prey
into their mouth.
- Bullfrogs may remain at
the tadpole stage for up to 2 years. A longer tadpole stage means a larger
frog after it changes, which usually means a better chance of
survival.
- Hearing is one of the
most important senses to a frog. Male bullfrogs chorus at breeding ponds;
females also make aggressive and reciprocation calls.
- Bullfrogs close their
nostrils and continue to breathe through their skin while under water.
Ecology and Conservation
- Where bullfrogs are
naturally found, they help keep populations of insects, such as mosquitoes,
in check (under control). But they have been introduced into areas of the
western United States where, because of their appetite, they are capable of
destroying local populations of native species. Their populations can
increase to become out of balance with the species native to those habitats
because often they have no natural predators. Their skins gives off a
poisonous liquid which makes them not too tasty to many animals.
Copy and print the activity below to do in
your classroom.
