length (from snout to vent)

[GoodTaste]

Frogs can be anywhere from <1-32 cm in length (from snout to vent) and weigh anywhere between 0.5g-3/2 kg. It depends entirely on the species. Although, the average size for all frog species is around 6-12 cm in length and 10-75 grams in weight.


Information source:

How Big Do Frogs Get?​

Is from snout to vent proper English? If I wrote it, I would have written from head to butt. But I am not sure whether it works in English or whether it is too vulgar to be used here

 

[tedmc]

The snout is the projecting part of the mouth or nose. It is more specific than using the head as reference for the length of frogs. The vent refers to the posterior orifice (anus), which is a more refined term than butt, which is informal.

 

[jutfrank]

snout and vent are indeed the proper terms for talking about frog anatomy. butt is very improper in such an academic register.

 

[GoodTaste]

snout and vent are indeed the proper terms for talking about frog anatomy. butt is very improper in such an academic register.

Does register here mean "a book or system of public records", or " any of the varieties of a language that a speaker uses in a particular social context"?

 

[jutfrank]

Does register here mean "a book or system of public records", or " any of the varieties of a language that a speaker uses in a particular social context"?

Have a guess at which one I mean.

 

[GoodTaste]

Have a guess at which one I mean.

The latter.

 

[probus]

@GoodTaste: When people speak, we can gather a lot of information from their tone of voice. Register is the same sort of thing in written language.

 

[jutfrank]

Register is essentially the kind of language that is appropriate to the type of discourse used. In this case, talking about a frog's anatomy in order to educate people is scientific description, which is why it's appropriate to use scientific terminology. Scientific terminology is one kind of academic language.

If you were talking to your friend after having found a frog in your garden, it could be appropriate to talk about the frog's 'butt'. That wouldn't be academic discourse.