GREY FOAM-NEST TREE FROG
Chiromantis xerampelina
Class Amphibia
Territory Central, Eastern and Southern Africa
Diet Insects
Lifespan Unknown
Adult weight Unknown
Conservation Status
LEAST CONCERN
Chiromantis is a genus of frogs found in Southeast Asia and the sub-Saharan tropics of Africa. These frogs are known as the foam-nest tree frogs because of the impressive frothy structures they create when rain signals the start of the breeding season. While the foam nests may appear simple in comparison to other feats of animal architecture, they have some peculiar properties, and, in the case of the grey foam-nest tree frog, are the work of many determined legs.
How they build it…
Lathering up
A female attracts multiple males, who will compete for access to her, with the successful individual climbing onto her back. She then secretes a fluid before she and her mate beat it into a foam with their back legs. When a large nest of bubbles has formed, the female begins to lay her eggs into it and the male fertilises them.
Getting tough
The process of frothing and egg laying can take hours, so the female takes breaks and visits a nearby pool to rehydrate. Other males will by now have arrived to contribute to the fertilisation process. When all her eggs are laid and fertilised, the frogs part ways and the foam is left to develop a protective crust.
Breaking out
After four to six days, the tadpoles are ready to hatch. The bottom of the foam nest becomes soft or is dissolved by heavy rain, so the tadpoles are able to wiggle out of their eggs and drop straight down into the safety of the water below.
spacious home
The thrashing limbs of several enthusiastic frogs allow a mother to build a foam nest many times bigger than herself.
Complex building materials
Proteins within the female’s secretion have antimicrobial properties and act as surfactants to stabilise the foam.
air supply
The bubbly foam contains all the oxygen the developing tadpoles need while they’re in the nest.
Big family
The foam nest needs to be roomy, because a female frog can lay thousands of
