While most the tadpoles last summer metamorphed into young frogs these tadpoles did not. Instead they lounged lazily at the bottom of the pond most of the winter. I didn't think they had survived but now with the warmer weather they are starting to become more active and at last are morphing.
I wonder if they have grown so fat by eating the other little tadpoles. I witnessed the tadpoles canibalising their same sized siblings last summer. I assume it's nature's way of controlling a population too large for the pond.
It was hard trying to measure them as I couldn't get the tape and tadpole out straight and operate a camera at the same time. I also imagine that they might have been a little longer if I had nabbed it before it had grown legs, but still you can see in the photo that it is 11.5 cm long with a bend in its tail.
If you look carefully in the next photo you can make a comparison between a three week tadpole of what I assume to be the same species (Litoria Moorei) and the one that is approximately 11 months old.
1 comment:
I have a tadpole who is now one year and 3 months old. It is suppose to have turned into a spotted leopard frog after 4-6 weeks. Any idea what is stopping his growth?
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