Goliath frogs build huge stones

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Despite its relative fame and exceptional size, which earned it its name well, scientists don't know much about Conroe Juliath or the Goliath frog, the world's largest species of frogs, up to 34 centimeters tall and weighing 3.3 kilograms, the qualities that qualified him for the behavior. Spotted for the first time, its details were published this month in the Natural History.

Frog Forts
The Goliath frog can move weights more than half its weight and, according to the study, uses its extraordinary power to push huge stones and pile them as barriers and dams around the water ball to build small, safe pools suitable for the care of young children, "an activity that may justify Goliath frogs. These giant sizes, "said Marvin Schafer, a researcher at the Berlin Museum of Natural History, who is involved in the study.

Coincidentally, they led the team to discover the phenomenon while conducting some field research in Cameroon, when they were told by locals hunting frogs to eat, about the construction of Goliath frogs.

A team of researchers from Germany and Cameroon quickly surveyed 400 meters along the Mpola River basin between February and May 2018 to find 22 possible locations for Goliath frogs' nests, 14 of which showed patterns of lining of barriers of stones or twigs - impossible to It has happened without interference - around almost 3,000 eggs in each den.

The team did not detect frogs during the construction of the forts, but the evidence came from the general appearance of clean ponds carefully neatly surrounded by fences paved with rocks appear modern moving effects, as opposed to other ponds adjacent aspects of chaos, such as the presence of layers of dead tree leaves and sediments that Lying on bottoms of gravel mixed with sand.

"Goliath frogs lay their eggs in these small puddles at the edges of rivers, where water overflows at speeds that may sweep away eggs and tadpoles, and where predators seek perfect meals like frogs' eggs," said Schaffer. .

Concerning the amount of effort exerted in the construction, he commented that "digging a walker with a diameter of more than a meter and a depth of ten centimeters, by pushing several kilograms of rocks and gravel, is a very hard physical effort, may indicate a possible explanation of the unique sizes that these frogs reach, making them the largest species Known frogs. "

More puzzles
There are still uncertainties surrounding many aspects of these frogs' lifestyles, such as their mating habits. Scientists do not know for sure if the preparation of the walker lies with the male or female, and the research team tried to investigate this issue and installed cameras that capture infrared radiation on some The dens, but what they got were footage of a frog who could not determine his sex, he kept guarding the walker - apparently - all night until dawn.

The researchers returned to question the locals of the frog hunters, where one of them told them that he saw a male build the den, while the female waited in the neighborhood until he completed the mission and called her with a whistling sound, and that he saw the female lay eggs in the den and then stay there guard.

"The fact that we have just discovered this behavior is as small as our knowledge, even with regard to some of the most surprising creatures on the planet," said Mark-Oliver Rudel, a reptile and amphibian expert at the Berlin Museum of Natural History. Our current and future discoveries will contribute to enhancing our understanding of the needs of this exceptional frog, which is unfortunately at risk of extinction. ”