Sorry for the late reply.

Tadpoles metamorphose into frogs at a wide variety of sizes depending on species. Some, such as bullfrogs, might be nearly 3-inches long when they make the switch and others, like American Toads, can be smaller than a human fingernail. It's hard to say using just size exactly what you have -- unless you are in a very unlikely part of the world then it did indeed come from an aquatic tadpole. What would be useful is if you told us where you live and what colors or textures this little guy has and then maybe we can work on an ID. If you happen to have a way of getting digital photos, a picture is generally worth a thousand words when it comes to ID though getting a good shot of something that small can be very tricky.

In either case, I hope we can figure it out!

Also, you are right to be concerned about other frogs eating it. One study showed that about 70% of the diet of large Bullfrogs is made up of smaller Bullfrogs. Frogs do eat smaller frogs. However, I would be less concerned about that to start off with -- depending on what kind of frog this thing is it might not even stay in the pond. All frogs go to water to lay their eggs but only some stay to live out their lives in the same spot.

Anyway, cheers!

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