The BBC has a story that claims For the first time, frogs have been seen giving birth to tadpoles. A few details can be found on Wikipedia or the more detailed version at PLOS One.
Most frogs lay eggs and although some species give birth to froglets, newborn tadpoles are new to science.
Nearly all the world's 6,000 frog species use external fertilisation: the female lays eggs during mating, while the male releases sperm to fertilise them. "But there are lots of weird modifications to this standard mode of mating," Dr McGuire said. "This new frog is one of only 10 or 12 species that has evolved internal fertilization, and of those, it is the only one that gives birth to tadpoles, as opposed to froglets or laying fertilized eggs."
How the male frogs manage to fertilise eggs inside the female remains a mystery, because frogs have no conventional sexual organs to transfer the sperm.
I had not heard of any frog that gives birth to froglets instead of laying eggs before this article. Because this article is dominating the news, I could not find any example of this despite what Dr. McGuire says. Does anyone else know about frogs giving birth to live froglets?
(Score: 4, Informative) by jimshatt on Saturday January 03 2015, @11:27PM
(Score: 2) by Rivenaleem on Friday January 09 2015, @09:14AM
That's okay, I didn't need my skin anyway.
(Score: 2) by jimshatt on Friday January 09 2015, @12:25PM
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by Bot on Saturday January 03 2015, @11:35PM
But not as surprising as debian adopting systemd.
(sorry, the systemd troll contracted a STD from a rubber doll - don't ask me how - so I am to sub him until he recovers)
Account abandoned.
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by zeigerpuppy on Sunday January 04 2015, @12:56AM
It shows, you need more practice.
Maybe try connecting the systemd saga to the story.
Since the dawn of time processes have produced like tadpoles emerging from their thin process eggs to swim in the pond of Linux/GNU life.
Now there has evolved a version that wants to keep all those beautiful little processes in its belly and.... It has fangs and is called systemd.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 04 2015, @06:30AM
Where's the song that goes with it though?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 04 2015, @01:59AM
Netcraft confirms: Debian is dying
Long live FreeBSD!
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by Tork on Sunday January 04 2015, @06:27AM
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by dyingtolive on Sunday January 04 2015, @04:21PM
I was going to say something about how debian will always be the distro that had it "before it was cool" but then I remembered that it's systemd we're talking about here; every distro could have it and will likely still have had it "before it was cool".
Don't blame me, I voted for moose wang!
(Score: 2) by arslan on Sunday January 04 2015, @09:57PM
I can't wait until systemd gets another distro :)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 04 2015, @04:19PM
Would you like some cheese with that w(h)ine?
(Score: 2) by black6host on Sunday January 04 2015, @01:14AM
Good question indeed. Seems these have fangs. Maybe worth looking into :)
(Score: 3, Informative) by NoMaster on Sunday January 04 2015, @01:29AM
The Puerto Rican Live-bearing Frog [wikipedia.org] gives birth to fully-formed live young.
A few of the true toads (e.g. Nectophrynoides viviparus) do the same. [wikipedia.org]
There's also the Gastric-brooding frogs (Rheobatrachus spp.) of Australia, which externally fertilise their eggs, swallow them, incubate them in their stomach, and regurgitate fully-formed froglets...
Live free or fuck off and take your naïve Libertarian fantasies with you...
(Score: 3, Insightful) by aristarchus on Sunday January 04 2015, @04:25AM
"viviparus" is probably a clue here. It means, "Live birth". But then there are some viviparus sharks, and if sharks can do it, well, any of us allegedly further evolved species ought to be able to do the same! I am looking at you, Tork!
But in answer to the original question, yes some of us know about frogs giving birth to live froglets, we just didn't want anyone else to know. Now it has been spoilt.
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Sunday January 04 2015, @11:10AM
Why is one of them vivi*PARUS* but the other larvae*PARTUS* (previously ovovivi*PAR*)?
There's one root behind all of those, pario, parere: to bear. Hence partus: borne(m). And -parus: having the property of being borne.
Dudes, chose one part of speach for your endings and stick with it!
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Sunday January 04 2015, @10:26PM
... and never trust the English spelling (much less in the way is used by SN posters, there is a significant number of them which don't have English as their native language)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Informative) by c0lo on Sunday January 04 2015, @10:21PM
viviparus [wikipedia.org] = Viviparus, common name the river snails, is a genus of large, freshwater snails with an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks.
viviparous [merriam-webster.com] = producing living young instead of eggs from within the body in the manner of nearly all mammals, many reptiles, and a few fishes
vivipary [wikipedia.org] = Vivipary has two different meanings. In animals, it means development of the embryo inside the body of the mother, eventually leading to live birth, as opposed to laying eggs.
Why the above is important? Because viviparous is an English adaptation of the latin vivi partus [google.com], therefore by using an incorrect spelling you are likely to ruin the day (or just evening) of some pedantic geeks [soylentnews.org] which have less time to do their own research.
(this is also to show that English is a crazy awful language when it comes to spelling)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Monday January 05 2015, @03:45AM
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Sunday January 04 2015, @05:35PM
> There's also the Gastric-brooding frogs (Rheobatrachus spp.) of Australia, which externally fertilise their eggs, swallow them, incubate them in their stomach, and regurgitate fully-formed froglets...
Yes, it would be Australia wouldn't it? Anyone here qualified to perform a partial lobotomy? If at all possible I would like to un-know the above factoid.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by lubricus on Sunday January 04 2015, @12:14PM
Just a quick comment (holidays and all)...
There are about 10 or 12 frogs that give birth to live young in one form or another. Just to clarify, it is a form of ovoviviparity, there is no nutritive placenta, the eggs hatch before they leave the female.
In the case of this frog (from a quick read of the paper), tadpoles were observed in oviducts and leaving the female after they were caught.
Pretty cool, but I wouldn't say it is a clear cut case of tadpole birth (others give birth to froglets), because animals in these conditions do all kinds of weird things, the stress of capture could cause the frogs to release the tadpoles prematurely, so it might not be that unique.
Very cool still!
... sorry about the typos