Hi Frank:
Great article. It looks like a scientific name change for this species is coming:
Chirixalus hansenae. I am getting totally confused with all these taxonomy changes. It reminds me of another instance when the African rubber frog changed genus. It was formally known as
Phrynomerus bifasciatus, now known as:
Phrynomantis bifasciatus. What seems strange is the genus
Phrynomantis referred to a group of microhylid frogs from New Guinea (now known as
Callulops sp.). Just when you thought you were comfortable, they change everything
Frogs are on top of the heap when it comes to reproductive strategies. After reading the classic
Biology of Amphibians, I learned that there are many breeding strategies among the amphibians. This seems to be one more. It makes sense that smaller egg clutches occur in species where there is parental care and direct development. The most dangerous time for a frog is during the egg and tadpole stages. So with direct development, at least the newly hatched frogs have a head start.
In this particular species, large eggs would not be practical because they hang from a foam nest and they will fall out if too heavy. Once again, the "many" egg strategy will indicate that direct development is not an option. Many tadpoles will be needed to overcome cannibalism and predation.
There is another group of frogs that exhibit parental care without direct development:
Pipa carvalhoi, P. myersi, and
P. parva.
Re: Frog Facts: First Discovery of Egg Care in a SE Asian Treefrog
Originally Posted by tgampper
Hi Frank:
Reply With Quote
