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A tadpole or polliwog (also spelled pollywog) is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found in adult amphibians such as a lateral line, gills and swimming tails.
The jellynose fishes or tadpole fishes are the small order Ateleopodiformes. This group of ray-finned fish is monotypic , containing a single family Ateleopodidae . It has about a dozen species in four genera , but these enigmatic fishes are in need of taxonomic revision.
The life cycle of all amphibians involves a larval stage that is intermediate between embryo and adult. In most cases this larval stage is a limbless free-living organism that has a tail and is referred to as a tadpole, although in a few cases (e.g., in the Breviceps and Probreviceps genera of frogs) direct development occurs in which the larval stage is confined within the egg.
Eggs can hatch in under 30 hours and tadpoles can fully develop in one month. [13] They have wide caudal fins and two rows of labial teeth on the top of their mouths and four rows on the bottom. [14] Tadpoles survive on algae and will occasionally eat other tadpoles, [13] and on rare occasions, recently metamorphosed juveniles. [15]
[55] [56] The eggs and larvae are unpalatable to many salamanders and fish, but the high levels of activity of the tadpoles may make them more noticeable to a predator not deterred by their unpleasant taste. Humans hunt bullfrogs as game and consume their legs. Adult frogs try to escape by splashing and leaping into deep water.
Adults hunt in spring and summer, but only at night or during light rains. Spadefoot tadpoles are dimorphic. Within a cohort, some tadpoles have large mouthparts, while others have much smaller mouthparts. As well as consuming other types of food, large-mouthed individuals are cannibalistic, swallowing other tadpoles whole. [4] [10]
American spadefoot toads have a unique diet. The adults' and tadpoles' diets vary. The adults' diet consists of invertebrates. [9] They eat flies, crickets, caterpillars, moths, spiders, centipedes, millipedes, earthworms, and snails. [10] The tadpoles' diet is related to its surroundings and food supply.
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