While the “frog sex death trap” might seem like a very strange nomenclature, it accurately describes the event that took place in a swamp in Germany 45 million years ago.
An ancient coal field, this area contains many different fossils, ranging from crocodiles to toads and hundreds of frogs. A research team has tried to unravel the mystery of why so many frogs died in this region. A team led by scientists from University College Cork (UCC) in Ireland published their research on the fossils this week in the journal Papers in Palaeontology.
Earlier research had suggested oxygen depletion or drying up of lakes as the cause of frog deaths, but amphibian bones tell a slightly different story.
The fossil frogs appeared to be quite healthy at the time of their death, and their bones showed no signs of predators or scavengers, lead author Daniel Falk said in a UCC statement Wednesday.
The fossilized animals were a species of frog that spent its time on land and only went into the water to mate. The researchers concluded that the only plausible explanation for the frogs’ demise was during mating. This phenomenon can sometimes be seen in modern frogs, with females suffocating under the males during mating. UCC paleontologist and study co-author Maria McNamara says these ancient frogs may help make some connections with the present.
Stating that similar features are seen in fossil frogs from other areas, McNamara states that this suggests that the mating behavior of frogs is very old and has been going on for at least 45 million years.
39194
