Inflatable Attraction

The female cane toad can inflate herself to twice her size to ward off advances from smaller males vying to mate with her, according to Australian biologists. “The unusual tactic suggests that female anurans, as frogs and toads are called, may have far more power to select their sex partner than thought, according to their study, appearing in the British journal Biology Letters. Female cane toads (Bufo marinus) are typically choosier than males when it comes to reproduction. They discriminate among potential mates by approaching the toad with the best call. But, as they head to a rendezvous with the hunk with the mightiest ribbit, they also have to run the gauntlet of excited rival males. An unwanted suitor will seek to climb on the female’s back, grasping her tightly in the armpit or groin, waiting until she starts laying her eggs in order to fertilize them.”