By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, March 20: A tiny high-altitude frog in Meghalaya plays high-stakes game of survival and has discovered a bizarre and brilliant breeding strategy.
Kurixalus naso, an amphibian unlike most of its kind, has devised an extraordinary way to bring its young into the world.
While most frogs lay their eggs in water, K. naso does something astonishing. It buries its eggs deep within the soil, disguising them like seeds, and then waits. Not for days, but weeks. Not for warmth, but for rain. If the skies fail to deliver, its offspring may never see the light of day.
A recent study published in Current Science has unveiled the bizarre and brilliant breeding strategy of this elusive species. Conducted by PW Shangpliang of St. Edmund’s College, Shillong, retired NEHU professor RNK Hooroo, and SK Dutta from the Nature Environment and Wildlife Society, the research sheds light on how K. naso has adapted to Meghalaya’s extreme seasonal shifts in ways that few other amphibians have.
Come February, as the first pre-monsoon showers kiss the forest floor, male K. naso frogs emerge from their cold-weather hibernation in rock crevices. But instead of seeking out pools of water, they set up camp around patches of damp soil, digging tiny burrows and calling out to potential mates. Once female answers, the pair undergo the frog mating embrace which can last an exhausting 5–6 hours. Then, in a move that defies common amphibian behaviour, the female lays her eggs directly into the soil, not a single drop of water in sight, before vanishing into the wilderness.
Then, strangely, the males don’t abandon the eggs. Instead, they stay behind, using their hind limbs to nudge the eggs closer to the surface, blending them seamlessly with the dirt. This technique, researchers believe, helps camouflage the eggs from predators and maintain just the right moisture level to keep them viable.
For the next 8-15 days, the eggs remain underground, seemingly in limbo. But unlike most amphibian eggs that hatch relatively quickly, K. naso’s offspring refuse to budge—until the rain calls them forth. Only when heavy downpours flood their burrows do the tadpoles emerge, kicking off the next stage of their lives in a way no other frog species quite does.
But nature isn’t done surprising us yet. When these tadpoles finally emerge, they are already at an advanced developmental stage — Gosner stage 25 — meaning their gills have completely disappeared before they even touch water. This is a biological puzzle, as in most frog species, gills are essential for early underwater respiration.
But this delicate cycle of survival is under threat. K. naso has evolved to depend on Meghalaya’s monsoon arriving on schedule, but climate change is throwing those timelines into disarray. If the rains come too early, the eggs may hatch before they are ready. If the rains come too late, they may dry out entirely, leading to population decline.