Hot Amplexus Action

More

A reader writes:

I'm no biologist, but I doubt those frogs are actually getting it on. Frog mating doesn't involve penetration and takes place in bodies of water - "froggy style" - rather than face to face. This photo is probably just tickling our anthropomorphic whimsy.

An expert enlightens us:

Those frogs aren't mating (or, at most, one of them is, and no reproduction is going to happen). Mating in frogs is called amplexus.



The male climbs atop the back of the female, grasping her with his forelimbs, either just behind her forelimbs (axillary  amplexus) or around the waist (inguinal amplexus). Amplexus may begin on land, but is usually completed in water, Wordswithoutwords3-thumb-500x573-45210since the eggs must be in a moist environment. Typically, the male and female shed gametes into the water, and fertilization is external.

Males of a number of species frogs and toads have been known to get overexcited, and amplex inappropriate objects (other species, empty cans, etc.), or, at times, multiple males will attempt to amplex the same female, and wind up amplexing each other in a sort of a ball. 

The picture you show is something of this sort. Amplexus resulting in actual mating (i.e. shedding of gametes) doesn't occur belly to belly. If the lower animal is a female, she might be able to right herself (although it can be hard to make a male let go), and then a regular amplexus, with gamete shedding, could take place (they'll also have to move to the water; although I can't identify the exact species, the frogs in the photo are a species of the genus Rana, which lay their eggs in water). If you google-image "amplexus", you'll get lots of pictures of frogs and toads in amplexus.

I don't often say this, but trust me on this: I'm a herpetologist.

Another raises a disturbing possibility:

I'm in herpetology and actually study the effects of development (including roads) on amphibians.  I'm not personally aware of a Ranid frog in that region of France (or anywhere) that mates in face-to-face amplexus.  So I thought you should know that you most likely treated us all to some animal necrophila.

(Cartoon by Veronika Heckova, via Maria Popova)

Jump to comments

2006-2011 archives for The Daily Dish, featuring Andrew Sullivan

Get Today's Top Stories in Your Inbox (preview)


Elsewhere on the web

Join the Discussion

After you comment, click Post. If you’re not already logged in you will be asked to log in or register. blog comments powered by Disqus

Video

Miami: The Next Big Start-Up City?

How the city became a center for innovation

Video

Video

A Brief History of Romantic Comedies

From The Atlantic's Chris Orr

Video

Life in 'the New Arctic'

A moving portrait of a fading landscape

Video

Video

The Rise of New York City

A fascinating look at Manhattan in the 1940s

Video

What Is Methane Hydrate?

"Flaming ice" is a vast natural energy source

Video

NASA's Time-Lapse of the Sun

Now with epic dubstep music

Video

Shaken Not Tuned: Cocktail Experiments

Can a tuning fork improve a cocktail?

Video

Video

Is He Cheating? A 1950s Guide

'That little blonde secretary from the office?’

Video

New Yorkers: Vintage Vacuum-Tube Amps

Risking electric shock to restore old amplifiers

Video

The DIY Piano-Bicycle

Everybody needs a hobby

Writers

Up
Down

In Focus

Photos of Tornado Damage in Moore, Oklahoma