{"id":40516,"date":"2024-08-02T13:23:05","date_gmt":"2024-08-02T11:23:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eb4935d9-506d-4b63-9292-0f17caf99ed3"},"modified":"2024-08-02T14:27:31","modified_gmt":"2024-08-02T12:27:31","slug":"this-rare-indian-tree-frog-has-upside-down-sex-in-dank-holes-scientists-have-just-figured-out-why","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/this-rare-indian-tree-frog-has-upside-down-sex-in-dank-holes-scientists-have-just-figured-out-why\/","title":{"rendered":"This rare Indian tree frog has upside-down sex in dank holes \u2013 scientists have just figured out why"},"content":{"rendered":"

Of all 7,708 species of frogs\u00a0known to science, the Charles Darwin\u2019s frog \u2013 endemic to the Andaman Archipelago in the Indian Ocean \u2013\u00a0is the only one known to\u00a0breed\u00a0in this way, say scientists. <\/p>

By <\/p>

Published: Friday, 02 August 2024 at 11:23 AM<\/p>

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It’s a rainy, mid-monsoon night on the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal, and Charles Darwin\u2019s frogs (Minervarya charlesdarwini<\/em>) are up to something strange. They’re having sex in a completely unique way; upside-down in tree holes. <\/strong><\/p>

Toes wedged into the bark, the honey-brown female points her body head-down and, with the male still attached, lays her eggs on the surface walls of a tree hole or a buttress root mini-pond. <\/p>

Once the eggs hatch, the tadpoles drop into the safety of the watery pool below. As each in-tree pond rarely holds more than a soup-bowl\u2019s worth of liquid, a female lays only a few large eggs above each one.<\/p>

Minervarya charlesdarwini (M. charlesdarwini) is a species of frog endemic to the Andaman Islands, India. Credit: S. D. Biju<\/figcaption><\/figure>