Froggie Fun!
This page will list some strange and unusual mating behavior, brooding habits and other reproductive oddities :-) *rated 'G'*
The Red-eyed Tree Frog attaches its eggs on the underside of leaves near a source of water. After a few days the eggs slide into pools of water where they eventually will develop into frogs.
The Argentine Leaf-Folding Frog (Phyllomedusa Sauvagii) glues a leaf (situated over water) into a funnel with the help of a sticky bodily secretion. It then produces a gelatinous clutch of eggs which it will lay into that funnel. When the tadpoles hatch they will fall into the water below and continue their development there.
The male Tailed Frog (Ascaphidae) does not have a true tail as the name suggests, but has a tubular cloacal appendage that is used for internal fertilization. Breeding season occurs in early fall, but the female will not lay eggs until the next summer!
Some species tend to their young and others carry them around.
Like the males of the species Phyllobates bicolor, who carry the tadpoles on their backs until they are fully developed.
The males of the so-called Darwin's frog (Rhinoderma darwinii) carry the tadpoles in their vocal pouch until development is complete.
Another strange brooding habit belongs to a group called Gastric Brooding Frogs.
One member is the Rheobatrachus vitellinus or Northern Gastric Brooding frog. These frogs stop producing gastric acid while the young develop in the mother's stomach, and emerge as tiny frogs.
Male True Toads have rudimentary ovaries, which are called "Bidder's Organ"; the suppression of the female sex results in the development of the male sex.
If the testicles of a male toads are removed, the Bidder's Organ will develop into a functioning ovary! -> Remember "Jurassic Park"?
The Nectophrynoides toads bear fully developed young!
The ash-gray Midwife Toads (Alytes obstetricians) are unique in the fact, that after copulation the male wraps the eggs around his hind legs, and retreats to its burrow, which can be far from water. It will not reappear until the eggs are about to hatch. At that point he will rush to water, put his hind legs in it and waits for the larvae to leave. (Hence the name 'Midwife'.)
The female of the Pipa pipa (or Surinam) toad carries her fertilized eggs on her back, which after being placed on there will sink deeper and deeper into the skin, until only a small portion of the eggs can be seen. The young frogs will stay on (in) the mother's back until they are fully developed!
But that is not the only strange adaptation of this aquatic species ... just look at the picture. - Who would have guessed this to be a frog or toad?
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