You’ve heard of it raining cats and dogs. Thankfully, it’s just a figure of speech, but did you know that sometimes it really does rain animals? From starfish and shrimp to fish and frogs, sometimes creatures really do fall from the sky. The episodes leave people running for cover and scratching their heads, prompting explanations […]
Tag: amphibians
“It’s the only known example of necrophilia having an evolutionary advantage – to both the male and the unfortunate female…”
Nature is never a good place to look for moral guidance. Anything goes, as long as it increases the chances of one’s genes being passed down the generations. Take the male Amazonian frog Rhinella proboscidea – it doesn’t even care whether its mates are alive or dead. Like many amphibians, the species is an explosive breeder. Males […]
“This huge ‘cloud’ seemed to come out of nowhere. Suddenly frogs started to fall from the sky. I thought a plane carrying frogs had exploded…”
For a few surreal minutes in June 2005, the residents of a small Serbian town were forced to do a reality check, after storm clouds gathered and frogs rained down from the sky. Thousands of the amphibians are said to have fallen to the ground, forcing traffic to a standstill and locals to run for cover. One resident […]
Africa’s amphibians are overlooked in conservation planning, experts warn
Herpetologists are calling for greater inclusion of amphibians in African conservation planning, in a recent letter published in the journal Science. Africa is home to roughly 1,170 known species of amphibians, 99% of which are endemic. Some 37% of the amphibians are recognized as threatened with extinction. The researchers note that amphibians — frogs, salamanders and caecilians — […]
“Its venom disrupts the blood-clotting system, causing haemorrhage and kidney failure. Without prompt treatment bites can be fatal…”
This little desert hunter may not look especially imposing, but its bite can be deadly, and in India it is one of the “Big Four” snakes thought to be jointly responsible for around 58,000 mortalities per year. Those that encounter the saw-scaled viper would do well to heed the rasping warning sound it emits before […]
“Swarms attack and dismember anything in their path, piece by piece…” 10 brutal and savage animals that can kill and devour prey twice their size
When it comes to survival in the animal kingdom, size isn’t always the determining factor. Some creatures possess such incredible strength, cunning or venom that they can take down prey twice their size. Here are 10 formidable animals that can overcome much larger adversaries, from the majestic tiger and remarkable Komodo dragon, to the bat-hunting giant centipede and even a beetle larva that […]
“It’s up to 1,200 times more poisonous than cyanide.” 10 most poisonous animals in the world, from frogs to sharks – and even butterflies. Yes that’s right…
It’s a tough world out there and many animals have had to arm themselves. One capacity that has evolved time and time again is toxic weaponry – venoms and poisons. Although oft confused, there is a clear distinction between these two forms of toxins. Whereas venoms are produced in specialised tissues and are delivered to predators or prey through […]
“Faced with a rugby scrum of suitors, females have little choice over who to mate with.” Here’s why these weird frogs suddenly turn blue
In the world of amphibians, sexual dichromatism, where one sex appears a different colour, is an unusual phenomenon. Dichromatism can be further split into ‘ontogenetic’, where the sexes remain different colours, and ‘dynamic’, where the colour change occurs temporarily – something considered rare as hen’s teeth among anurans. Fighting this froggy trend to a spectacular […]