Tadpoles in eggs
| Title | Info |
|---|---|
| Common name | Tadpoles |
| Source | Dan L. Perlman |
| Ecosystems | Forests |
| Forests | Tropical rainforest |
| Selection and adaptations | Selection |
| Selection | Natural Selection |
| Change over time | Life cycles |
| Organisms | Animals |
| Animals | Amphibians |
| Lessons | Water Relations |
| Date | 1990 |
| Location | Carara Biological Reserve,Costa Rica,North America |
Tadpoles developing in eggs, Costa Rica. Amphibian eggs do not have shells and must remain moist, so frogs in the temperate zones typically lay their eggs in water. However, tropical frogs exploit a wider range of sites in which to leave their eggs, because in some rainforests the eggs do not dry out even if they are out of the water. The eggs in this image were developing on a leaf in a rainforest. Some tropical frogs pass through the tadpole stage while in the egg, hatching out as a tiny froglet. Many ecologists think that these behaviors are ways of avoiding predators in the water, although certain snakes have evolved to specialize in eating frog eggs off of leaves, so these tadpoles are not completely safe.
