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Mud frogs

By Rani Iyer

Poa had spent her summer studying frogs in Argentina. One day she told me the unbelievable tale of mud frogs. She worked at night watching the frogs in the pond, counting them as they emerged from their hiding place. “These frogs build burrows and survive in extremely arid conditions,” she said.
I was not sure if she was serious. Frogs, as we all know, need water. They can live in wells, ponds, pools, streams or rivers. So what was she talking about? My search led me to Leptodactylus bufonius, the mud frog. Until relatively recently very little was known about this species. It was thought to lay its eggs inside the burrows of Vizcacheras, a South American rodent.

It is now known that the males construct the mud nests, within about 90 minutes, and that the female of a mating pair seals the small entrance hole of the nest with a mud cap once the eggs have been laid. The females deposit about 500 eggs within gelatinous white foam in each nest. The tadpoles hatch and develop inside the nest. The tadpoles are then dependent on rainfall to flood the nest, soften the cap and allow them to escape into the surrounding water. The females lay all their eggs in one nest, and each nest only has the eggs from one female. Tadpole mortality within nests appears to be absent.
The story of this fascinating frog in a harsh climate where daytime and nighttime temperatures exceeds 500C and 300C is a lesson in survival. Such adaptations are one reason that life thrives and survives in unexpected places.
But the discovery of the mud frog also stirred up my memory. As children we have heard stories where rocks or stones were said to contain a little water housing a frog. Do such frogs exist? Has anyone looked for it? Now this is a lead for another fascinating story. Any takers?

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Last updated on :3/26/2004

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User's Comments

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glester: I would like more information on tadpole types in southern india and their food habits. As this site is so informative, I would like to be filled in.

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Jack Livingston: I would like to know if mud frogs really slow their heartbeats to 1-2 times a second in dry conditions. I need the answer fast.

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Allicia: What do frogs eat?

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sammie lee thomas jr: Do you really like frogs because they are disgusting to me

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Eve ILL: I love mud frogs and I am glad you did this website

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brittany: You need to make it easier for kids to understand.

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mark: I have mud frogs in my school pond they are protecting their eggs. We gave them flies and they wouldn't eat it. Why?

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sarah: I was reading a book and they mentioned mud frogs so I looked it up to see if they were real. I still don't know much about them but they sound fascinating!!

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DivyaMatthew: I need the details of frogs about laying eggs,hatching and the life time as tadpole. I like to have the reply as early as possible.

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ria Snodgrass: Once when I went camping near a billabong with my dad these mud frogs came in at the middle of the night and left mud all over the place.

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Jessica: My son found a frog in the mud. And he wants to keep it should I let him? Do the frogs have any disese I should know about and how clean are they?

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victoria michel: how do mud frogs reproduce?

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Horace Simpson: what are mud frogs like?

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michael: well mud frogs are fascinating indeed but ever heard of the kapua mud frog? well if not hear this one out theyre like chameleons and are very rare on this planet I also heard they live with other mud frogs but not much mostly for protection.

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lavita Davidson: I find Mud Frogs very fascinating and I'm doing a paper on them so I would like to get somemore information on them.

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julia: what do mud frogs eat

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christina stanly: I think mud frogs are disgusting and ugly.

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Nadia Thomas: where did they get their name from?

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Kathie: I live in Florida and I believe the frogs we have are mud frogs. They build their mud nests at the front porch on the ceiling. They are extremely hard to clean off. Lots of scraping and repainting. This is continuous. Any suggestions on to more easily clean the mud nests? Better yet, any ideas on how to PREVENT the must nests. Thanks

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Meghan: I have seen a mud frog one time before. I was in Florida. It was amazing.

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mariah: But what do frogs eat ? And how do you know if it is a male or a female?

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