The Asian Common Toad.....

Topic 1 More about the pet 

The tadpoles that we have here is known to be the larvae stage of Duttaphrynus melanostictus. Commonly called Asian common toad, Asian toad, black-spectacled toad, common Sunda toad and Javanese toad. It is probably a complex of more than one toad species that is widely distributed in South and Southeast Asia.

     

Duttaphrynus melanostictus tadpole 

In this stage they are eating machines. They don’t have limbs, so they can’t walk but can swim. They don’t call although they can hear and they can’t breed. Basically, they eat, and they do it a lot. Approximately half of their biomass is intestine! Indeed, a tadpole’s primary ecological reason of existence is to get the individual organism that it represents from embryo to terrestrial adult. In doing so, it take advantage of the abundant aquatic food resources. 

The anatomy of the tadpole can be divided into two section, that is the head and the tail, the head houses the organs where else tail section is used to swim in the water. The video bellow shows how the tadpoles we have swim. 

the tail moves left and right rapidly to give propulsion for the tadpole to move around, when not in motion the tail does not move as well. 

Understanding About Characteristics & Functions of Tapdoles!

Reverse Bio-Engineering Worksheet (In class Tutorial) 11th April 2014 

1. Examine the biological artifact with the intent of discerning:

a. What does the biological artifact do?

- swims by lateral undulation (similar to how snakes move on land)

- feeds on algae and other microbes

- breathe using gills

- grows (progressively from hind legs to front legs, from gills to lungs and skin) to frogs

b. How does the biological artifact work?

- Larval stage of an amphibian, specifically frogs or toads

- Herbivorous

- Respire through gills

- Metamorphosizes into frogs (duration depends on species)

- Wholly aquatic

c. What might the biological artifact’s “requirements” have been?

               - Aqueous conditions

    - Cool temperature (20-25 deg celcius)

    - Suitable environment (eg: lakes, ponds which provide excellent conditions for camouflage)

    - Food (tadpoles are usually herbivorous, but in absence of food, they might cannibalize each
      other!)

          

2. Relate the biological artifact’s features to the artifact requirements listed in 1(c):

    a. List the biological artifact’s features (geometry, materials, mechanisms, etc.)

         (i) Has high surface area of gills to breathe under water

         (ii) Skin in dark green colour to camouflage itself in lake or pond waters

         (iii) Has a long tail to enhance swimming performance
                  (iv) Oval shape

             b. How do the biological artifact’s features support the requirements?

Features	Requirements
	(i) Defensive	(ii) Offensive	(iii) Travel
High surface area of gills	None	None	Enable them to respire and travel under aqueous conditions
Dark green colour skin	Enable tadpoles to camouflage to hide from predators	None	None
Long tail	Enable high swimming performance to avoid predators	None	Enable them to have an aerodynamic shape to travel faster underwater
Oval shape	Increase aerodynamic characteristics to avoid predators	None	Enhance their aerodynamic shape to travel faster underwater

             c. Are there features that don’t map to any requirements?
                 No

3. Form and function

a. How do the form (shape) and material of a feature relate to the function that the feature performs?

Features	1. Function	2. Form	3. Material	Relationship of 1-2-3
Gills	Respiratory mechanism	High surface area	Muscle tissues	High surface area of gills enables high efficiency in oxygen exchange
Dark green colour skin	Enable camouflage	-	Water, muscle tissues, minerals	Dark green skin helps them to hide from potential predators
Tail	Swimming mechanism	Long & aerodynamically shaped	Muscle tissues	Aerodynamically shaped tail helps them to swim efficiently
Oval shape	Swimming mechanism	Aerodynamically shaped	-	Oval shape helps them to reduce drag coefficient of water

4. Engineering inspiration

           a. Suggest a new product or process based upon what you have learned in 1-3 above.

               An enhancement in shape and characteristics in underwater appliances to increase the
               aerodynamic characteristics and reduce drag coefficient of water.

Thank you for reading!

Introduction

"Biomimicry can be staged into 3 stages, one is copying the form and shape of nature, another is copying a process, like photosynthesis in a leaf, and the third is mimicking at an ecosystem's level, like building a nature-inspired city." - Janine Benyus

What you will find in this blog is an experience of raising some adorable tadpoles whilst having the opportunity to witness the metamorphosis of them turning into frogs if they survive. Throughout this period, watch the authors get inspired by these little creatures and the way they apply the knowledge of engineering biomimetics on them!

What are tadpoles you say?

(Source: Miika Silfverberg, 2006)

A tadpole is the larval stage in the life cycle of an amphibian, particularly that of a frog or a toad. Tadpoles are young amphibians that are commonly found in lakes, swamps, drainage canals, ponds and other usually stagnant waters. As a tadpole matures, it progressively undergoes a process of evolving into a frog - metamorphosizes by gradually growing limbs, developing lungs and absorbing its tail.

We managed to grab a few tadpoles with the help of our dear friend Cindy in her home :)

This blog is created by three biomimetic enthusiasts - Jian, Sakitya and Hossein who are pursuing their engineering degrees in Taylor's University. We took the interest to opt Engineering Biomimetics as our elective subject for our semester. 

Join us and be inspired! 

We are on the journey of observing, analyzing and evaluating nature's best ideas, whilst trying to adapt them into the engineering field in order to better the society.

:)