Sally Coulthard

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The Book of the Frog

Frogs are extraordinary creatures. Unlike most other animals, they have mastered both land and water, and are capable of breathing through their skins and their lungs. Some of them are so poisonous that just one tiny frog harbours enough toxins to kill ten people stone dead, while others have held the key to lifesaving medicines and treatments, including the world's first pregnancy tests and cures for skin cancer. Cultures have loved and loathed frogs in equal measure, hailing them both as symbols of fertility and evil witches' familiars. Packed with beautiful illustrations and brimming with interesting facts, Sally Coulthard presents how frogs have successfully colonised some of the most challenging terrains on the planet. From the frozen Arctic to the parched South African desert, adopting bizarre and miraculous breeding strategies in the process: gastric-brooding frogs raise offspring in their stomachs, while in another species the froglets erupt from their mother's skin rather than growing from tadpoles. In The Book of the Frog, Sally Coulthard leaps into the cultural and natural history of frogs. Covering both familiar native British species and exotic rarities, she shares her fascination for these much-admired but often little understood creatures, many of which face threats and conservation challenges. From frogspawn and froglets to eating habits and hibernation, The Book of the Frog serves as the perfect jumping off point for anyone who loves amphibians.