Tadpole

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For other uses, see Tadpole (disambiguation).

Image:Tadpoles 10 days.JPG Image:Wrinkledfrog embryos.jpg A tadpole (also known as a pollywog) is a larval frog, toad, salamander, newt, or caecilian. In this stage it breathes by means of external or internal gills, is at first lacking legs, and has a finlike tail with which it swims as most fish do, by lateral undulation. As a tadpole matures, it metamorphoses by gradually growing limbs and then (in the case of frogs and toads) absorbing its tail by apoptosis (controlled cell death). Most tadpoles are herbivorous, subsisting on algae or other greens such as boiled lettuce in captivity. However, they are true omnivores, being able to adapt to a carnivorous life style as well. When kept under herbivorous conditions, the gut becomes long and spiral. Under carnivore conditions, the gut becomes shorter. In a few species, some tadpoles turn cannibalistic under harsh conditions and feed on other tadpoles living in the pond.

Frog tadpoles, like their adult form, are eaten in certain regions of France (Charente-Maritime especially). Tadpole soup is a common dish amongst the Charentais but is relatively unknown outside their region.

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