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Cricket frogs and their belly flops
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By: Xiaocheng Ai
Science Editor You step onto the diving board, filled with blind confidence. You close your eyes, take a deep breath, and jump off. But rather than gracefully spinning in the air like a professional diving athlete, you land on the water directly on your stomach. This terrible experience, colloquially known as a "belly flop," is something most people have experienced at least once in their life. Now imagine if belly flopping was your only form of transportation. Sounds awful, right? Yet this is reality for cricket frogs (Acris crepitans). These tiny amphibians, native to the eastern United States and northeastern Mexico, are so small they can "fit on a penny," according to biomechanist Talia Weiss. Researchers describe their movements in the November Journal of Experimental Biology as "porpoising," a term used for animals that leap in and out of the water as they travel. Porpoising is common among aquatic animals like dolphins, seals, and various fish species. These animals use this technique to conserve energy when traveling, as they face less resistance moving through air than water. By continuously moving forward and using momentum to jump in and out of the water, they can cover greater distances with less effort. However, cricket frogs have their own unique version of porpoising. High-speed video recordings reveal that these frogs pause between jumps, distinguishing their movement from traditional porpoising. This pause potentially reduces some of the energy-conserving benefits typically associated with the technique. According to the study led by Talia Weiss, these amphibians may be “too small or slow to generate enough forward momentum to fully capitalize on the advantages of porpoising”. “These frogs are so cute, it’s kinda sad that they have to belly flop everywhere,” says Kallee Klingler, a previous marine biology student at Corner Canyon High School. However, despite its apparent inefficiency, this "fast-moving belly flop" technique allows cricket frogs to move across water surfaces in a way that appears like skipping to the naked eye. In addition, I’m happy to report that these movements don’t hurt the frogs; to be fair, that’s all they’ve ever known. But watching them move about definitely looks entertaining to us humans. Last updated: 2/4/2025 |
Photo courtesy of Jake Socha
Famous frogs in media (not a comprehensive list)
Kermit the Frog
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