Frogs in 3-D

Why are frogs so diverse?

While we often think of frogs as the small green or brown creatures we find in ponds, they are actually an astonishingly diverse group of animals. They range in size from less than an inch to more than a foot in length, can be almost any color, and can live in many different environments, including arid ones. Frogs also exhibit variety in life cycles; they may or may not lay their eggs in water, and species spend different lengths of time in the tadpole stage, with some species skipping this stage altogether.

How did all this diversity arise? You will explore this question by looking at the physical characteristics of frogs shown in life-sized 3-D models of actual frogs drawn from the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology Herpetology Collection. After looking for traits that give frogs survival advantages in their environments, you will investigate the process through which these frogs came to have their particular forms.
 

Teachers guide

The comprehensive Teachers Guide includes a detailed lesson plan, background information, key vocabulary, and additional resources.
 

Student worksheets for download

• Frog Head, Body, & Feet Shape Guide (without labels) (pdf)
• Frog Head, Body, & Feet Shape Guide (with labels) (pdf)
• Frog CER Organizer Worksheet (pdf)

Frogs Research Guide

Includes detailed information on each of the frogs and links to more resources.
 

Meet the frogs

	Scientific name	Common name	Link to 3-D
	Agalychnis callidryas	Red-eyed Treefrog	See in 3-D
	Breviceps mossambicus	Mozambique Rain Frog	See in 3-D
	Ceratophrys cranwelli	Pacman Frog	See in 3-D
	Eleutherodactylus coqui	Common Coquí	See in 3-D
	Hemisus guttatus	Spotted Snout-burrower, Spotted Shovelnose Frog	See in 3-D
	Lepidobatrachus laevis	Budgett's Frog	See in 3-D
	Polypedates leucomystax	Common Treefrog	See in 3-D
	Rana berlandieri	Rio Grande Leopard Frog	See in 3-D
	Rana spinosa	Giant Spiny Frog	See in 3-D
	Xenopus laevis	African Clawed Frog	See in 3-D

Preparing your own 3-D models

Mara Laslo and the project team selected 10 frogs from the thousands in the MCZ Herpetology Collection to scan and make 3-D models. If you have access to a 3-D printer, you can scan, print, and paint the frogs yourself.

To print the 3-D models, you will need the source files used to duplicate the frogs in this collection. Here are links to the resources you'll need:

• Download STL source files for the 3-D printer as a zipped file.
• Instructions for painting the frogs using this Frog Painting Guide.

Individual unpainted models may be purchased from third-party vendors.

Video resources

For students and teachers, there are four videos used in this activity: