Xenopus

[kmhort]

Will a female Xenopus lay eggs without a male in the tank?
If they can, I owe Her an apology, because I have been calling it a him all this time! Oopps!

[Tom Highum]

Yes it is a her. Does anyone know if they are capable of parthenogenesis? What type of Xenopus? tropicalis? laevis? how long have you had her?

[kmhort]

She is an Albino African Clawed Frog. I got her at a Walmart the day before Christmas last year so she's somewhere in the nieghborhood of 9 months old.

[Tom Highum]

Hmm i don't know she may just be laying unfertilized eggs or again it could be parthenogenesis. Wait till someone more knowledgeable can answer.

[kmhort]

Thank you. Maybe Kurt or John might know later.

[Kurt]

They were used in pregnancy test years ago. When a woman was suspected of being pregnant, her urine was diluted and either put in the frog's water or injected directly into the frog. If she was pregnant the frog would start laying eggs.

So if your frog is laying eggs, without a male present, then I would say that the water has elevated hormone levels. How is this possible? Birth control pills. As women use these pills the hormones are carried in her urine. From there is goes down the toilet and depending on the system used, into a sceptic tank or sewage system. From there it can enter the water table and be carried right back into your tap.

Also to note, there is a study being done in CT studying this phenomenon. In a surburban neighborhood they have found the birth control hormones in the local ponds. It has started to turn male frogs into female frogs.

[John]

Kurt is giving you hard facts but it's a stretch to credit hormones in the water with causing this to happen (sorry, I'm a scientist - you can't say something like that without evidence Kurt). He may be right but I think there are other more likely reasons - most likely stress, or possibly an internal organ problem. It's impossible to say with certainty. However, the eggs will not be fertile. To the best of my knowledge, parthenogenicity is unknown in diploid amphibians. Parthenogenicity is basically the mother's ability to reproduce exact copies of her own genes to make new offspring, without the contribution of a male.

[kmhort]

Wow! I never even thought of her laying eggs, because I have called her a him all this time. Whew, I don't know what I would have done if they would have hatched. Thank you so much for helping me.

[Tom Highum]

Wow! Kurt that was alot. Whats a diploid amphibian?

[Kurt]

A diploid amphibian is an amphibian that has two sets of chromosomes, one set from it's mother and another set from it's father

[John]

Most animals are diploid (including humans).

[Tom Highum]

Haha i just keep thinking of Jurassic Park. Also aren't there some frogs that can?

[tgampper]

The genus Xenopus is an exception in the animal world. While it is true that most animals are diploid (having two sets of chromosomes), there are no extant (living) species within the Xenopus taxon that are diploid (unless you consider Silurana tropicalis to be a part of Xenopus). Xenopus laevis, which is the most common species in the pet trade is actually tetraploid (having 4 sets of chromosomes). The strangest species of all are Xenopus ruwenzoriensis and X. longipes, both are dodecaploid (having 12 sets of chromosomes). Really weird, you would expect to see these numbers in the plant kingdom.