Gastric brooding frogs are unremarkable to look at - they are small and dully coloured. However, they have a truly remarkable method of reproduction. Following external fertilisation by the male, the female would swallow the tadpoles or the eggs, incubating them in her stomach. After a period of approximately 2 months as many as 25 baby frogs would hop from the mother's mouth!
There are 2 species of Gastric Brooding Frog - the Gastric Brooding Frog (
Rheobatrachus silus) and the Northern Gastric Brooding Frog (
Rheobatrachus vitellinus). Both were discovered only relatively recently, in 1972 and 1984 respectively. Sadly, it is unlikely that we will ever be able to witness this particular miracle of birth again as both species are now believed to be extinct.
