Female frogs also seek to defend themselves and be free. The thing is that they are usually subdued by the males to force reproduction, so as a form of defense, they fake their death to avoid mating with the males. In European and Asian wetlands, rising temperatures allow the metabolism of most organisms, such as plants and insects, to accelerate. This emergence of life provides the russet frog (Rana temporaria) with a true banquet for reproduction.
However, the mating mechanism of anurans can put the lives of females at risk, so they have developed at least three self-defense strategies: pulling the male when he gets into a superior position, making release sounds, or simply, pretending to be dead.
These Female Frogs Fake Their Death So The Males Will Leave Them Alone
According to ABC News, female frogs fake death to avoid unwanted attention from males. But, in reality, it is to avoid the dangers of reproduction by males. According to a study published Wednesday in Royal Society Open Science, female European common frogs were observed practicing “tonic immobility,” that is, faking their own death to avoid mating.
Avoidance behaviors shown by females included a spinning movement, in which they twist and twist their bodies to free themselves from the males’ grasp, a technique used more successfully by smaller females, as well as participation in a call that is similar in frequency and structure to calls made by males.
But why do female frogs fake their deaths?
Explosive reproduction prioritizes the speed of sperm release over the efficiency of fertilization. The mechanism causes female anurans to be complexed by several males, even against their will. In some cases, if the specimen is larger than the female, it can cause her death by suffocation. It is for this reason that the female, when she perceives a risk to her integrity, imitates the rigor mortis that occurs after death. European frogs extend their arms and legs, tense their muscles, and pretend to be a corpse for 2 minutes.
Although not all of them manage to recreate the process. It appears that smaller, younger female frogs are more likely to use tonic immobility. This strategy increases your chances of escaping explosive reproduction alive. On the other hand, more experienced and larger frogs can more easily free themselves from an unwanted male. To achieve this, all they have to do is rotate around themselves to throw the male away and leave them alone.
This story was written in Spanish by Perla Vallejo in Ecoosfera