Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/03/25/watch-toad-babies-emerge-from-little-holes-on-moms-back.html
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Made me wonder how they went through the spawn phase. (And how the eggs got into the back.)
Which made me wonder - hang on, toads DO produce spawn don’t they?
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Or… not… Yeah, I’m going to go with not.
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The reproductive cycle of the Surinam toad is pretty wild. The female produces eggs which are fertilized one at a time, a process which can take 24 hours of mating to complete (and involves a lot of continuous somersaulting, apparently). The eggs are then stuck to her back and immediately start getting embedded, with the skin thickening around the eggs over time to eventually engulf them. The young don’t go through a tadpole stage, emerging directly as tiny toadlets after three to five months. The mother then sheds the thickened skin on her back and goes back to being smooth.
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