Why Do Frogs Mate With Food, Another Animal Species, or An Object? Here’s What Biology Tells Us

In an episode of Studies We Like to See, it appears amphibians across the globe are attempting to mate with literally anything, including pythons.

"An amphibian mounting a boot" in a mating attempt "gone wrong" is called misdirected amplexus, a report from The Atlantic reported.

This led researchers to ask how such behavior like this, one that's not producing offspring and thus should not be preferred by natural selection, is so common?

The question came about an observation two years ago; when Juan Diaz Ricaurte was hiking in Brazil, a male yellow cururu toad attached itself to the boot he was wearing.

He gently detached the frog and brought it back to the ground, a few feet afar. Undeterred, the frog bounded back to his shoe and wrapped its arms around it again.

An 'Evolutionary Trap'

Scientists call this behavior an "evolutionary trap. According to biologist Ulrika Candolin from the University of Helsinki, the environment is changing, and "they make more mistakes."

She added that temperatures rise, habitats fray, and animals get forced to mingle with new and unknown species. More so, the biologist continued, mating "seems to take a hit."

A similar Inkl.com report specified that Diaz Ricaurte, together with colleagues including Marcio Martins, started searching for previous reports of frog hugs gone awry, as mentioned earlier, formally termed "misdirected amplexus."

They discovered almost 400, an entire coterie of frogs glomming on to things that they nearly certainly could fertilize, including incompatible frog species, dead frogs, and embryos of frogs still inside of eggs; apples, coconuts, and mangoes; turtles, fish, geckos, and slugs; rulers; plastics, and balls; and even yak and cow dung.

Misdirected Amplexus

What's not evident, though, is the reason. Misdirect amplexus is not always a reason for alarm. A slight baseness can behoove a bachelor frog, particularly in species that mate just a few nights each year or in populations where females are particularly scarce.

Male frogs will only go for anything they can get their hands on, explained wildlife biologist Liz Lopez, based in California, who has investigated misdirected amplexus.

The ultra-tight hugs are an ideal approach to position males in the appropriate place at the right time when their mates are dropping their eggs. They can also ward off other suitors attempting to edge their way in.

'Search and Find' Tactic

In the study published in the Ecology journal, researchers explored exactly how widespread misdirected amplexus is and what, if anything, is driving these animals to do it.

Anurans, in particular, are tailless amphibians from the Anura family, which includes toads and frogs. Through their study, researchers of the new paper pieced together more than 370 recorded examples of misdirected amplexus occurrences that represent 156 species throughout 69 genera.

The study investigators described the sexually confused frogs and toads in their research hailed from 52 countries, including each continent except for Antarctica, an outlier exemplified by the total lack of reptiles, mammals, or amphibians in the region.

Describing the behavior, a related IFL Science! report specified that according to the study's corresponding author Felipe Serrano, frogs depend primarily on acoustic and visual cues, frequently combined, to search for mates.

Nonetheless, it depends on the group or species since some species tend to be more territorial, typically arboreal, and therefore, use calls to attract females.

Others, most toads, on the other hand, use more of a "search and find" tactic to search for females around breeding habitats. They may also use chemical or tactical hints, but these appear to be less essential or primarily used after acoustic and visual ones.

Related information about the frog trying to mate with the wrong species is shown on Smithsonian Channel's YouTube video below:

Check out more news and information on Amphibians in Science Times.