All amphibians begin life in the water, hatching from eggs and living for awhile as swimming creatures. Young frogs and toads are called tadpoles, and in the video below, you can see toad tadpoles ( likely the Gulf Coast Toad, Bufo valliceps) swimming in an ornamental pool in a courtyard at a 17th-century plantation in Yucatan, Mexico.

Video (43 seconds)

Related Links:
Gulf Coast Toad (Herps of Texas)
AmphibiaWeb.org
Living Underworld (Amphibian information resource)

Back to Amphibians

Photo: Priscilla Coulter, SFASU Library
Video: Linda Reynolds, SFASU Library

Special thanks to Daniel Saenz of the U.S. Forest Service for his help in identifying these tadpoles.