If you thought dating in the human world was tough, try being a green and golden bell frog. A new theory suggests that female frogs may eat male frogs after mating. That's right, I suppose those feelings of love do not extend past the mating act.
It's A Frog Eat Frog World
Dr. John Gould, an ecologist from the University of Newcastle in Australia, captured a rare encounter between a male and female green and golden bell frog. Gould was observing the frogs, in one of the few areas where their populations are still plentiful, and noticed the female take a mouthful of her partner's leg.
Apparently cannibalism among amphibians is not unheard of. Tadpoles often consume one another, or adults will occasionally eat the tadpoles as well. There are also instances of larger species consuming smaller species. However, Gould argues that "cannibalism among amphibian adults (adult-adult cannibalism) is less often reported and there have been no investigations on the occurrence of sexual cannibalism in this group to date."
A New Theory Presents Itself
Although there have been no investigations of sexual cannibalism to date, Gould's theory may cause a spark to ignite. The ecologist managed to capture a video of two frogs, and it appeared that the female frog may eat the male frog. In the video, you can see that the female gets a hold of one of the male's legs.
She bites down, seemingly forcibly, and begins to tug at him. He tries to move away as she begins to pull him further into the burrow. You can hear the male frog scream as the female pulls him further down. Luckily for the male, he is able to escape her grasp and flee the scene.
While Gould has been able to capture scenes of female green and golden bell frogs preying on adult spotted marsh frogs, this is the first video of this kind where a female green and golden bell frog eats a male frog. With this new video coming out, it has got the ecologist thinking, why might this be happening?
This has caused him to explore a new theory, that females can choose whether they want the male frogs for food or as mates. It will be interesting to see future findings of his theory, but until then it seems that the male green and golden bell frogs should think twice before making their mating call.
