Blonde By Nature

Nature amazes me over and over again and this time I think I have found a creature that might just thrill you the same way…

The Surinam toad (Pipa pipa) also called the star-fingered toad, is an aquatic creature native to the northern regions of South America. It grows to roughly 6-8 inches in length and looks like a muddy leaf sitting on the floor bed.

But what is so cool about this creature you ask?

Watch.

Now I know where Chris Columbus (writer of Gremins) developed his idea on how to reproduce mogwais via Gizmo’s back. You can watch a minute into Gremlins 2 Music Video to be reminded of how all that went down. It still brings back childhood fears *shudder*.

This species of toad is studied specifically for its reproductive uniqueness…

The mating begins when the male surinam toad makes a clicking sound in the water and does a little dance for her. From above her, he then wraps the female in his embrace and which point the she initiates a vertical roll giving the male an opportunity to grasp her back legs with his front legs (laying head to tail to head). They push to the surface and flip onto their backs at which time the female releases 3-10 eggs that land on the males stomach. They then return to the bottom of the pond in normal toad position and the male fertilizes the eggs and loosens his hold on the female and pushes them onto her back. The entire process is repeated 14-18 times until an estimated 100 eggs are produced and stuck onto female’s secretion-filled back, like this.

It was very shocking at first but then I found a need to watch it over again to take a really good look.

What was your initial reaction to this? Utter fascination or utter disgust?

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