'Extinct' Frog Rediscovered After 150 Years, Eats Mom's Eggs
An expedition led by the "Frogman of India" found the odd amphibian living in tree hollows, a new study says.
A bizarre frog that breeds inside trees and lays eggs for its tadpoles to eat has been rediscovered in northeastern India after 150 years.
Last recorded in the wild in 1870, Jerdon’s tree frog was feared extinct until scientists found it during a three-year search that began in 2007.
The 20-inch (50-centimeter) long species was first discovered in the Darjeeling region by British zoologist Thomas Jerdon, who inspired its name Polypedates jerdonii. (See "'Extinct' Toad Rediscovered in Ecuador.")
But according to a new study, the long-lost amphibian actually represents a completely new genus—earning it the new moniker Frankixalus jerdonii.
Scientists observed the frog hiding in hollow bamboo stems and tree holes, where it carries out its remarkable breeding antics.
Females attach their eggs to the insides of tree hollows, which hold pools of water. When the tadpoles hatch, they fall in the water, where the females feed them unfertilized eggs until they turn into froglets. Most
