• Question: Did`you`have`fun`in`Trinidad?`Also,`are`Tree`Frogs`simillar`to`the`animals`you`study`at`the`moment?

    Asked by josiek to Christine, Edd, Jess, Nicolas, Zara on 21 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Edward Codling

      Edward Codling answered on 21 Jun 2011:

      I think this is a question for Zara!

      I do like frogs and other amphibians though – we have newts and frogs in our garden pond!

    • Photo: Zara Gladman

      Zara Gladman answered on 21 Jun 2011:

      Hi josiek! 🙂

      I had a really amazing time in Trinidad. I saw a lot of wildlife – frogs, monkeys, snakes, scorpions, tropical birds… the list goes on! I ate great food too and I was there during the World Cup, so there was a big party atmosphere! I’d love to go back.

      Tree frogs, like crayfish, live in freshwater ecosystems, e.g. ponds. Both crayfish and frogs can breathe in and out of water too! Tree frogs are very good climbers and have sticky toe pads on their feet to stay attached to trees. Crayfish are good climbers too, and can use their claws to grip vegetation and haul themselves upstream. They can’t stick to things the way frogs do though.

      Crayfish and tree frogs are different in a lot of ways. Frogs belong to a group of animals called the amphibians, which include newts and salamanders. Crayfish are in a group called the crustacea and related to lobsters. Crayfish breathe using gills, whereas frogs breathe using lungs. They also look very different! Crayfish have a hard outer skeleton which they must shed to grow. Frogs have a skeleton on the inside.

      So.. there are some similarities but on the whole, they are two very different animals!

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