The body mass of the leopard frog (Rana pippiens), is twice that of the cuban tr

Question

The body mass of the leopard frog (Rana pippiens), is twice that of the cuban tree frog (Osteopilus septentrionalis), yet the tree frog jumps twice as far. As we have learned, jumping animals that stay in contact with the ground over a longer period of time have the opportunity to generate more kinetic energy before they lift off. So, perhaps this difference in jumping has something to do with contact time. If you assume that the frog are anatomically similar and follow isometric scaling, by what factor is the contact time of one species more than the other? Does this help explain the high performance of the tree frog?

Answer The leopard frog has a contact time that is 1.78 (i.e. 78 % longer) that of the cuban tree frog. This does not help explain the disproportionately long jumps generated by the tree frog

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Explanation / Answer

The frogs can use their very stretchy muscles to create energy to jump up to more than ten times their length.

Before the frog jumps, they stretch most of their hindlimb muscles and increase their length.

A Cuban tree frog is seen as muscles stretch, contract and then stretch again at the height of it's jump.

The frog jumps has three simultaneous movements- the foreleg flex, the hind limbs swings to a vertical position and locks and the thing swings in a horizontal plane.

The frog's muscles have tremendous passive flexibility unlike mammals, whose muscles are mostly stiff. The frog generates a 'ton' of mechanical energy during their jumps.

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