Tadpole –
Tadpoles are the larval stage of frogs. Frogs lay their eggs underwater, which hatch into tiny tadpoles. They grow large flat tails so they can swim like a fish in their first underwater world, usually a big mud puddle in the Spring.
Over time these tadpoles will grow bigger, and eventually will grow back legs, followed by front ones. Then they will hop onto land and begin their life as frogs without the big tail. Frogs live on the ground and in the water when they are mature, which means they are classed as amphibians.
When tadpoles live underwater in the first five to six weeks of their life they breathe through gills like fish. When they start growing legs, they also start developing lungs to breathe with on land. Another major change is the tadpole’s mouth. It grows from a small narrow mouth to one almost as wide as its head. Pollywog is a great nickname for a tadpole. I don’t know where it comes from but it seems to fit.
