croakers

Hi all,
here are some shots from a pond close by...

1

Nice photos. Love seeing them with the eggs.

Those are so cool!! I like the egg shots. #2 is very funny.. all clustered around like that.

Cool shots. Any ideas what species that is. Those egg mass shots are really impressive - it's hard to find fresh eggs like that - usually they're covered in algae/detritus.

SkyBaby wrote in post #9715129
Those are so cool!! I like the egg shots. #2 is very funny.. all clustered around like that.

My guess is that female (center) is about to lay her eggs and all the males (around her) are waiting for the chance to fertilize them once she starts laying.

Nice, those are some interesting images with the eggs.

Schell wrote in post #9715879
My guess is that female (center) is about to lay her eggs and all the males (around her) are waiting for the chance to fertilize them once she starts laying.

Woah really thats how they do it? That's crazy

dank ink wrote in post #9716444
Nice, those are some interesting images with the eggs.

Woah really thats how they do it? That's crazy

Sure is. Frogs don't have internal fertilization. They broadcast semen over the eggs as they come out - fish do it this way also. Usually one male will hold the female around the waist (called amplexus) for days or weeks and guard her so he can be the one to fertilize the eggs, but it seems like in this case there is no preferred male so its a free-for-all so to speak - the resulting offspring from this female will likely have several different fathers.

Looks like these are most likely "Common Frogs". Maybe common, but new to me.

Cheers!

Interesting, thanks for the info!

Great captures. I love #4!

Wow, nice shots there. The weather must be warming up over there?

Schell wrote in post #9715209
Cool shots. Any ideas what species that is. Those egg mass shots are really impressive - it's hard to find fresh eggs like that - usually they're covered in algae/detritus.

Hi all,
thanks for the comments. These are common frogs(Rana temporaria ) that are found all across Britain. At first it didnt seem like there were many at the pond, but I waited quietly for a while and then they started to appear from all directions!

Great shots there Dave. I haven't seen one so far this year. We have a large garden pond and I measured the thickness of the ice one day back-a-long and a seven inch drill didn't pierce it. So ours may have gone to that big pond in the sky

thought it was a bit cold for eggs , will have to check my pond , great shots , love the eggs one