Size of Crib Enclosed in Some Frogs' Calls

Investigators have determined in a new study that certain types of frogs are able to encode information about how large their burrows are into the calls they send out to prospective mates. Their real estate thus becomes an extra reason for females to select them over their rivals.

This behavior is especially obvious in the Emei music frogs (Babina daunchina). These creatures also tend to sing to future mates from inside their own burrows. The shape of the “property” and the width of the entrance modulate the sounds in specific manners.

The caverns themselves are deep, because the Emei music frogs need to safeguard their tadpoles and their selves. As such, the properties of the burrow could make the difference between life and death, ScienceNow reports.

In a series of experiments with recorded male songs, melodies sung from within the burrows attracted 70 percent of the females, while only the remaining 30 percent hopped towards speakers playing back songs recorded outside burrows.