Reptile & Amphibian Forums

whats an egg feeder frog?

These are the species of thumbnail frogs, such as D. imitator and D. pumilus that raise their own offspring. They will transport the tadpoles after they hatch to a water source such as a bromeliad axil that holds water. With the imitators, the male does the transporting, and with pumilios, it's usually the female. They do this by sitting on the egg cluster until a tad or sometimes more, climbs on their backs. Then the male imitator guards the tads, as they also do their eggs, and calls the female to feed them. She deposits unfertilized eggs for them to eat until they morph out into froglets. It's pretty fun stuff to watch. With pumilios, the female returns periodially to feed the tad on her own. While a lot of different darts transport tads to a waterway, that's the end of their parental care. While the D. ventrimaculatus group are egg feeders, the tads can also subsist upon other foods. The pumilios are decidedly egg feeders.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
5 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
4 P. terribilis
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus