Indonesian frog is one of a kind

You can find all the current news with regard to Reptiles here. Announcements about anything reptile and site related will be made here as well for your information.

Indonesian frog is one of a kind

Postby Sico » Sat Jan 03, 2015 9:23 am

Washington - Its fangs are not what makes the newly identified Indonesian frog species Limnonectes larvaepartus unique on Earth. The way it makes babies does.

This little amphibian from the rain forests of Indonesia's island of Sulawesi is the only one of the world's 6 455 frog species to give direct birth to tadpoles, eschewing the common froggy practice of laying eggs, scientists said on Wednesday.

"Reproduction in most frogs could not be more different from human reproduction. In this case, what is most interesting, ironically, is that the reproductive mode is more similar to our own," said herpetologist Jimmy McGuire of the University of California, Berkeley, whose research appears in the scientific journal PLOS ONE.

This frog, usually gray or brown, measures about 40mm long, weighs less than two-tenths of 5g and belongs to the Asian group of fanged frogs. Males possess two fang-like projections from the lower jaw that are used in fighting.

The frog lives along small streams and puddles in rainforest habitats, doing its best to avoid being eaten by larger fanged frog species as well as snakes and frog-munching birds.

Evolution and diversification

Its mode of reproduction sets this frog apart.

"The vast, vast majority of frogs have external fertilization. For mating, the male grips the female around the waist and releases sperm as she releases her eggs," McGuire said.

Those eggs mature through stages including the aquatic tadpole larval phase, typically limbless with a tail that propels it through the water.

About a dozen frog species rely on internal fertilisation, McGuire said. All but the newly identified one either deposit fertilized eggs or give birth to froglets, essentially miniature versions of an adult that already passed through a modified tadpole stage while still in an egg capsule inside the female.

The female Limnonectes larvaepartus (meaning "marsh swimmer that gives birth to larvae") instead gives birth to tadpoles.

"It's totally unclear why this mode of reproduction has not evolved more frequently," McGuire said.

"My favourite topic when it comes to frog evolution and diversification is the bewildering variation in reproductive modes that occur. Frogs exhibit all sorts of interesting twists."

There have been frogs that swallowed their eggs and brooded them in the stomach, a species in which the male broods the eggs in his vocal sac, and many species that carry eggs and tadpoles in pouches on their backs and sides, he said

Image

2015-01-02 07:28 Reuters
Mark
Good judgment comes from experience. Unfortunately, experience usually comes from bad judgment.
User avatar
Sico
SA Reptiles Member
 
Posts: 1092
Joined: Sat Aug 23, 2008 2:15 pm
Location: Randburg and the rest of the continent

Re: Indonesian frog is one of a kind

Postby reptile » Sat Jan 03, 2015 9:28 am

wow very cool! Wonder if they will ever be available in the distant future..... Very pretty frog! Thanks for sharing!
85% of all snakes are harmless!!!!
0:1 Super Hypo Leopard Gecko
God made everything... It's all to perfect for it to be able to just appear
User avatar
reptile
SA Reptiles Member
 
Posts: 409
Joined: Mon May 05, 2014 1:08 pm
Location: Kandern, Germany

Re: Indonesian frog is one of a kind

Postby Ruan Stander » Sat Jan 03, 2015 9:35 pm

That is just insane, well considering I didn't know there were frogs that gave birth to froglets, but still very, very remarkable.
The way to success has no shortcuts.
Ruan Stander
SA Reptiles Member
 
Posts: 1008
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2012 5:25 pm
Location: Mookgopong/Modimolle(Naboomspruit/Nylstroom)

Re: Indonesian frog is one of a kind

Postby Westley Price » Sun Jan 04, 2015 10:23 am

Very interesting.

I agree with the author that it doesn't make sense why this hasn't evolved more often. What would be the benefit of having external fertilization, and having the eggs being predated upon?

If they could give birth to live tadpoles (such as this species) or little froglets, that would surely be beneficial to the species.
"I am dying by inches from not having anybody to talk to about insects." - Charles Darwin
User avatar
Westley Price
Forum gatekeeper
 
Posts: 4019
Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2008 8:25 am
Location: South Africa


Return to News and Announcements

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 5 guests

cron