Frogs eat their prey, such as small insects, snakes, and birds, without chewing. Since they use their teeth to hold their prey in place before devouring it, frogs blink while they eat in order to aid the swallowing process. When frogs close their eyes, they are actually pushing their eyeballs down into their sockets to facilitate food moving more quickly down toward the esophagus. Although frogs can physically consume food without blinking, it can take twice as many swallows than if they use their eye sockets to assist in the process.
More about frogs:
- The West African goliath frog is the largest species of frog, reaching 7 pounds (3.2 kg) and 15 inches (38 cm) tall.
- A frog's tongue can dart out of its mouth to catch prey and return in less than 15/100ths of a second, leaving prey no time to fight back or escape.
- Female frogs select their mates based on their croaking, the sounds that are emitted as their vocal sacs fill with air. Croaking can be heard from up to one mile (1.6 km) away.
