Although there are many ,000 species, the only one we have found that can actually give birth to live, tadpoles was discovered quite accidentally by a group of scientists. Jim McGuire (a University of California Berkeley herpetologist) was exploring the Sulawesi Island rain forest in Indonesia in summer 2014, when he saw what he believed to be a male Frog. He found that he was holding not just a male frog, but also dozens of tadpoles. The female of an endangered species of frog gave birth to live tadpoles, which was what he wanted for so long. McGuire’s friend Djoko Iskandar discovered the species of fanged frog several years back. He suspected that it would give birth to tadpoles. Nobody had seen it mat and give birth. L. larvaepartus is a male, female and left-handed frog from Sulawesi, Indonesia. Only frog that can give birth directly to tadpoles. McGuire stated that almost all of the world’s frogs – over 6 ,000 – use external fertilization. This is where the male holds the female in an amplexus grip and then releases the sperm when the eggs hatch. There are many variations to the standard method of mating. The new frog is not one of the 10 and 12 species to have evolved internal fertilization. Ben Evans, McGuire, and Ben Iskander of McMaster University gave birth to Limnonectes larvaepartus. They wrote about the issue in PLOS ONE this week. McGuire explained the differences between external and internal fertilization. The majority of male frogs fertilize eggs once they are laid by their female counterparts. California’s tailed Frogs have developed ways to fertilize eggs within the female’s body, as well as about 12 other species. But, no one knows the mechanism of internal fertilization except for two California tailed Frogs. L. larvaepartus Tadpoles. (Photo by PLOS ONE). While the tailed Frogs lay fertilized eggs in stream rocks, other species that fertilize themselves internally, such as. They are miniature versions of their parents. Different species may have different ways of reproducing. Some species have unusual ways of reproducing. Others carry their eggs on their backs and brood them in their vocal sacs or mouths. Other species transport their tadpoles with pits on the back. Extinct species used to swallow fertilized eggs, brood the froglets in their stomachs and then eat them. Two fang-like protrusions on the lower jaw of fanged frogs have allowed them to evolve into 25 other species in Sulawesi. Only L. larvaepartus has been officially described. Three others are not. Their sizes range from 2-3 grams up to 900grams. L. larvaepartus is 5-6 grams in weight. This new species seems to be more comfortable giving birth to live tadpoles near streams, in pools and seeps. Perhaps to avoid larger fanged frogs. According to the research team, the males could also protect the tadpoles. McGuire, a herpetologist is someone who studies amphibians as well as reptiles. Photo: University of California Berkeley. McGuire discovered L. larvaepartus in his first year of studying the amazing diversity of reptiles and amphibians on Sulawesi. This island is the result of the merger of many islands millions of year ago. It’s a geographic hodgepodge. McGuire stated that “Sulawesi” is an amazing place in terms of both species diversity and in situ diversification. He said most of the islands are home to at least five species of fanged Frogs. McGuire said, “We really want to understand how Sulawesi in situ diversification began on the paleo islands or if any or all of it was post-merger.” This research was funded by the National Science Foundation. Citation: “A Novel Mode of Reproductive in Frogs” Djoko T. Iskandar Ben J. Evan, Jimmy A. McGuire. PLOS ONE. Publication: December 2014. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone. 0115884.
