Looking for an easy to keep and breed frog, one that will dazzle you with its amazing coloring and yet not keep you up at night with a loud call? Well, you need look no further than the Vietnamese Mossy Frog (Theloderma corticale). (I should be being paid for this post. Is there some sort of Vietnamese mossy frog association that wants to sponsor it?)
Anyways...
Ready for today's Word of the Day? Amplexus. That's Latin for 'embrace.' Among anurans (frogs, that is), amplexus refers to pseudocopulation, the process by which a male frog grips the female frog with his forelegs (typically) during the mating process. I only bring this up because amplexus is often an aquatic affair. But among Thelodermans (of which our mossy frog is a member), this often happens in the trees. I imagine arboreal pseudocopulation requires a bit more grip strength.
Speaking of which, don't those fingers and toes look like fiber optic bundles, ones that should glow and pulsate with soft LED lighting? Wow, I've spent way too much time around my daughters' faerie princess wands.
Thanks for the photo, Erik.
Photo source: The Kapok Tree
Dec 11, 2008
Of Amplexus and Fiber Optics
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4 comments:
I totally thought that was a patch of moss or slime with spore pods coming up out of it... and then realized that it was the underbits of a frog. I guess it is quite aptly named!
"arboreal pseudocopulation" Man, I feel smart now! It's stuff like this that keeps us coming back for more, Wombie!
I aim to please.
Love the suction cup toesies. This is as cute as that other toad post.
It also reminds me of the sticky gecko scientists used to make a synthetic fabric that can hold like a bazillion times it's weight. I'd like to slide this frog down that wall. And then cuddle.
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