Eurasian Marsh Frog
Eurasian Marsh Frog / pelophylax ridibundus. 03/08/18.
'BEING GIVEN THE HEADS UP'.
Each time a frog swallows, it closes its eyes. In doing so, the eyes actually get depressed into their sockets and this aids movement of any food down the throat.
Although frogs are able to swallow food without the assistance of their eyeballs, that would involve an awful lot of swallowing!
So, by depressing one or both eyes simultaneously and using the tongue, food gets effectively pushed towards the stomach. This significantly reduces the amount of swallowing needed, how ingenious is that!
This was the first Marsh Frog I had ever seen and it lived up to all my expectations, and more. It was in the process of eating an insect caught moments before and had just depressed its left eye completely. I only managed to photograph it just as the eye was rising up out of its socket again.
Perhaps, with a stretch of the imagination, it looks as if it is winking?
N.B: This image is dedicated to Mark....
Thanks for the 'heads up'. Here's winking at you! ;-)
Eurasian Marsh Frog
Eurasian Marsh Frog / pelophylax ridibundus. 03/08/18.
'BEING GIVEN THE HEADS UP'.
Each time a frog swallows, it closes its eyes. In doing so, the eyes actually get depressed into their sockets and this aids movement of any food down the throat.
Although frogs are able to swallow food without the assistance of their eyeballs, that would involve an awful lot of swallowing!
So, by depressing one or both eyes simultaneously and using the tongue, food gets effectively pushed towards the stomach. This significantly reduces the amount of swallowing needed, how ingenious is that!
This was the first Marsh Frog I had ever seen and it lived up to all my expectations, and more. It was in the process of eating an insect caught moments before and had just depressed its left eye completely. I only managed to photograph it just as the eye was rising up out of its socket again.
Perhaps, with a stretch of the imagination, it looks as if it is winking?
N.B: This image is dedicated to Mark....
Thanks for the 'heads up'. Here's winking at you! ;-)