Indonesian frog is one of a kind (and not because of its fangs)

Its fangs are not what makes the newly identified Indonesian frog species Limnonectes larvaepartus unique on Earth. The way it makes babies does. This little amphibian from the rain forests of Indonesia’s island of Sulawesi is the only one of the world’s frog species to give direct birth to tadpoles, eschewing the common froggy practice of laying eggs, scientists said on Wednesday.

Reproduction in most frogs could not be more different from human reproduction. In this case, what is most interesting, ironically, is that the reproductive mode is more similar to our own.

Jimmy McGuire, University of California, Berkeley researcher and herpetologist

Science