Newly Discovered Frog Species Give Birth To Live Tadpoles

Researchers have discovered unique species of frog that gives birth to live tadpoles, according to a new study. The species of frog was found on Sulawesi Island in Indonesia.

"Almost all frogs in the world - more than 6,000 species - have external fertilisation, where the male grips the female in amplexus and releases sperm as the eggs are released by the female," Dr Jim McGuire from the University of California, Berkeley, said in a press release.

"But there are lots of weird modifications to this standard mode of mating. This new frog is one of only 10 or 12 species that has evolved internal fertilization, and of those, it is the only one that gives birth to tadpoles as opposed to froglets or laying fertilized eggs."

The frogs are parts of a group of Asian fanged frogs that were discovered few decades back by a zoologist at Indonesia's Institute Teknologi Bandung. This is the first time the species have been reported in a scientific paper.

Analysts added that frogs reproduce in several ways and in many species the fertilization happens outside the female body. There are also around dozen species where male frogs fertilize the eggs inside the female's body.

The study has been published in the journal PLoS ONE.