Articles for tag: Animal reproduction, Bizarre Animals, Exploding Toad, Weird Nature, Wild Adaptations

brown and black frog on gray concrete surface

The Toad That Gives Birth Through Its Back – and Then Explodes

Suhail Ahmed

Deep in the low light of an Amazon evening, a flat, leaf-like toad surfaces for air – and carries a secret on her back. Under a quilt of living skin, dozens of tiny froglets are finishing their development, waiting for the moment they will punch their way out. The species is the Surinam toad, Pipa ...

A bird is standing in the tall grass

From Songbird to Space bird: The Strange Science Behind Japanese Quails

Suhail Ahmed

The Japanese quail has a résumé that is very strange for a bird. What started out as a songbird in 11th-century Japan has become a scientific wonder that produces foamy semen, struts around after mating, and even hatches in space. These small birds, no bigger than a human hand, have strange evolutionary traits that have ...