The male’s mating call is also strange. Instead of a loud croak, he makes a sharp click with his throat bone. When paired, the couple does an acrobatic dance, flipping in the water.
With each flip, the female lays 3 to 10 eggs. The male plants them on her back. In a few days, the eggs sink in, making a honeycomb of safe spots for the embryos.
The embryos skip the tadpole phase and come out as mini toadlets, under an inch long. Once they leave mom’s back, they’re on their own. Mom then sheds the birthing skin, geared up for the next round.
This wacky adaptation shields the young from predators and lets mom stay aquatic without babysitting. The Surinam toad’s birth trick shows life’s diversity and how animals evolve to survive.
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