The body of an animal has a defined form (morphology) and is composed of various structural parts, both gross and microscopic. These enable it to carry on the activities necessary for life, the physiological processes within its body and the external relations with its environment. These are the reasons why the short-winged grasshopper and the Mexican burrowing frog although so very different in physiology, modes of nutrition, motility and various other things can both be placed in Kingdom Animalia. Quite fascinating when you think about how very different these two organism are.

Multicellular, heterotrophic eukaryotes

Must consume/ingest preformed organic molecules

Stores carbohydrates as glycogen

No cell walls

intercellular junctions

Specialized tissues; muscular and nervous

Reproduces sexually

Bilateral symmetry

Protostomes

Segmented body, both internal and external

Body with exoskeleton made up of chitin

Jointed appendages

Molt

Open circulation

Respiration through body surfaces and/or by means of gills, book lungs or trachea

Unbranched, articulating appendages

Paired antennae and mandibles

Two pairs of maxillae (second pair may be fused)

Respiration via trachea and spiracles

Separate sexes

Small body size

large compound eyes

Tongue like hypopharanx

Two pairs of wings

Three pairs of walking legs

Complete digestive tract

Open circulation

Internal fertilization

Usually 2 pairs of wings (Forewing and Hindwing)

Forewing is long and narrow, many veined, and somewhat thickened

Hindwing is membranous, broad, with many veins and folded fanwise at rest

Forewing; one or both pairs of wing are sometimes small or absent

Antennae - many segmented, often long and hairlike

Cerci present, sometimes short and clasperlike, sometimes long and feelerlike

Usually have ovipositor, which may be long and slender, or short

Tarsi generally 3 to 5 segmented

Mouth parts chewing

Metamorphosis simple

Size medium to large

Mostly plant feeders

The short winged, or lubber, grasshopper is placed in this order because of some of the distinguishing characteristics such as 4 or none leathery forewing, a thin hindwing and the distinct features usually with Cerci. A comparison - Order Hemiptera have a few different characteristics, therefore, they are placed in a different order.

Forewing is usually with base thickened and tip membranous

Forewing is half leathery

Hindwing have only a few veins and filmy

Antennae have 5 or fewer segments

Mouth parts for sucking

Distinct feature - a triangular scutellum; base of beak far forward on head

Protonum not prolonged back over abdomen

Wings usually well developed

Tarsi 3 segmented

This group contains our most common grasshoppers. Many are important pests to cultivated plants. Most of them oviposit in the ground and overwinter in the egg stage.

A grasshopper is an essentially solitary and resident species, often abundant as to individuals, but which may occasionally migrate.

In comparison Family Eumastacidae and Tanaoceridae are very similar to Acrididae but there a few characteristics that distinguished them from Family Acrididae.

Wingless

Medium size to small, usually brownish

Tympana generally absent

Antennae are shorter than front femors (Eumastacidae)

Antennae considerably longer (Tanaoceridae)

These two families contain several species of relatively uncommon grasshoppers that are found in the chaparral country of the southwest, where they usually occur on the uppermost branches of bushes.

Short-winged, or lubber, grasshopper

Long-winged grasshopper

These two Genus species of grasshoppers - The short-winged, or lubber, grasshopper and the long-winged grasshopper are placed in different categories because of the different sizes in their wings.

Bilateral symmetry

Segmented body, including segmented muscles

Three germ layers with well developed coelum

Simple, dorsal, hollow nerve cord

Postnatal tail at some stage of development

Pharyngeal pouches (slits) present at some stage of development

Ventral heart with dorsal and ventral blood vessels and closed circulatory system

Complete digestive system

Bony/cartilaginous endoskeleton

Vertebral column that surrounds and replaces notochord as chief "stiffener" of body

Epidermis and inner dermis

Endoskeleton consisting of cranium, visceral arches, limb girdles and two pairs of appendages

Movement by muscles attached to the skeleton

Digestive system with digestive glands, liver, and pancreas

2-4 chambered heart

A pair of kidneys with ducts to drain waste to the exterior

Two separate sexes

Skin is moist and glandular and has no external scales

Limbs are two pairs for walking or swimming (no paired fins); toes 4-5; any median fins lack fin rays

Nostrils 2, connected to mouth cavity and with valves to exclude water

Eyes often have movable lids

Eardrums are external on toads and frogs

Mouth is usually with fine teeth

Tongue is protrusible

Heart is 3 chambered with 2 auricles and 1 ventricle

Red blood cells are nucleated and oval in shape

Respiration is conducted by gills, lungs, skin, or mouth lining, separately or in combination

Gills are present at some stage in life history, and there are vocal chords in toads and frogs

Brain has 10 pairs of cranial nerves

Body temperature can be external or internal, and mostly oviparous

Eggs with some yolk is enclosed in a gelatinous covering

Cleavage is holoblastic but unequal

No embryonic membranes

Larval stage is usually aquatic with metamorphosis to adult form

Toads and Frogs

No tails

Thin skull, no solid roof , much reduced, few bones

Vertebrae few, the last slender urostyle

Ribs reduced or none

Hind legs usually enlarged for leaping, webbed between toes

Much cartilage in skeleton

Egg deposition and fertilization usually external by "clasped" pairs of adults

Larva (tadpole) of fused ovoid head + body and long tail with median fins, no true teeth, usually aquatic

Metamorphosis conspicuous

2,200 species

Toads and Frogs are the most widely distributed of all amphibians

Approximately 2700 known species

Typical toad (Bufo) has a warty skin and short legs for hopping

Typical frog (Rana) has a relatively smooth skin and long legs for leaping

Numerous variations the other genera

In comparison Order Caudata - Salamanders have smooth or warty skins, and are clawless

America has far more kinds of salamanders than all the rest of the world put together

Range in sizes from dwarf species scarcely 2 inches long (5cm), to giants like the amphiumas that attain lengths of nearly 4 feet (1.2m)

Moisture is an absolute necessity

Some kinds, including all the larger ones, are aquatic, but even the terrestrial species can survive only in damp environment

Family Pelobaidae(Spadefoot Toads)

Single, sharp-edged, black spade on each hindfoot enables it to burrow vertically downwards into sandy or other loose soil

Smooth skin

Parotoid glands absent or indistinct

Pupil that is vertically elliptical when exposed to even a moderately bright light

In contrast, the true toads (Bufo) have two tubercles on the underside of each hindfoot, one of which may be quite spadelike. They also have well-developed warts, ridges, and paratoid glands, and their pupils are horizontally oval.

Family Pelobaidae (Spadefoot Toads) in comparison with Family Leptodactylidae (Tropical Frogs)

All but one of the species lay their eggs on land

Tadpoles undergo complete metamorphosis in the egg

Exception is the White-lipped Frog that builds a foam nest and has aquatic tadpoles

Some members of the family deposits their eggs in water

Large family of the American tropics

Rotund body

Broad reddish or orange middorsal stripe (buff in young specimens)

Barely enters the United States

Looks like a narrow-mouthed toad of giant size

The only living representative of its family, the Rhinophrynidae

Virtually never seen until heavy rains stimulate them to leave their burrows to form breeding choruses

Loud, low-pitched wh-o-o-o-a, much like a farmer commanding a mule to stop

Found in the lowlands from extra.s. Texas to Yucatan and Honduras; west coast from Rio Balsas, Mexico to Costa Rica

Only spadefoot toad occurring east of the Mississippi River

Spade elongated and sickle-shapes

No boss between eyes

Two yellowish lines, one originating at each eye and running down back

The 2 lines together may form a lyre-shaped pattern or resemble the outline of a somewhat misshapen hourglass

Normally an additional light line on each side of the body

Ground color some shade of brown (grayish or blackish-brown or sepia)

Some specimens may be almost uniformly dark gray to almost black

Voice is an explosive grunt, rather low-pitched, short in duration, but repeated at brief intervals. Sound liken to calling of a young crow

Found in S. New England to South Florida and some keys; West to S,E. Missouri, N.E. Arkansas, and East Louisiana; absent from most upland areas in the South

The primary reason why the Mexican Burrowing Toad (Rhinophrynus dorsalis) and the Eastern Spadefoot Toad (Scaphiopus holbrooki, holbrooki ) are place in different Genus species is because of their distinct coloration and their voices.