Toe pad morphology and mechanisms of sticking in frogs

1980/05/01 by SHARON B. EMERSON, Sharon B. Emerson, DIANA DIEHL +1 · 186 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Engineering · Environmental Science · #Adhesion, Friction, and Surface Interactions #Amphibian and Reptile Biology #Anatomy #Biology #Ecology #Evolutionary biology #Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior #Morphology (biology) #Zoology

paper · doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.1980.tb00082.x

published in Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 13(3), 199-216 (Oxford University Press)

openalex publication_date 1980/05/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/26

Abstract

Sticking ability in frogs was measured on a series of different substrates. Analysis of performance suggests that frogs use two sticking mechanisms: interlocking on rough surfaces and capillarity on smooth surfaces. There is a correlation between morphological specializations of the toe pad and sticking ability, but these morphological features are not unique to arboreal species. Terrestrial species that use leaves as resting sites during times of inactivity have many of the same morphological specializations and stick as well as the strictly arboreal species.

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