Frog Feet

Tree frogs, like this White-lipped Treefrog (Litoria infrafrenata), have sucker-like adhesive disks, or Sticky pads, which aid in climbing, on the tips of the fingers and toes.
This image is from the Frogs of the Townsville Region page.

Aquatic Frogs like the African Dwarf Frog in the Meet My Pets page, and the African Clawed Frog, have webbing between their toes that aid in swimming.
You can test how much this helps by the following little experiment:

1. First, try spreading your fingers and running them through a tub of water.
2. Now, get a plastic sandwich bag and place it over your hand.
3. Spread your fingers and NOW try running it through the water.
   This adds a lot of swimming power!

Frogs that burrow into the sand to keep moist in the heat have stubby clawlike fingers that are adapted to digging.
One example is the Plains Spadefoot Toad as seen here.
(Photo courtesy of Jeff LeClere and the Iowa Herpetology website)

Some frogs in the Rhacophorus species, such as R. reinwardtii and R. nigropalmus, have parachute-like webbing on their hands and feet which act as an air-brake when they glide from tree to tree or leaf to leaf. These frogs are known as "Flying Frogs."
The image on the right is an old woodcarving of a Javan Flying Frog in descent. Click on it to see it enlarged.
Try this little experiment to see how webbing helps:

1. First, take 2 pieces of paper, both the same size.
   
2. Now, spread out one paper flat and drop it. Notice how it takes a while to float to the floor.
   
3. Take the second piece of paper and crumple it into a little ball.
   
4. Drop the crumpled paper from the same height as the first paper. Notice how much faster it falls.
   
   Without the extra webbing, a falling frog would go *SPLAT!*

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