Next time you spot a frog that appears to be dead, it could just be the female amphibian trying to escape male attention, scientists have discovered.
Research has shown that female European common frogs are engaging in "tonic immobility," which is essentially frogs faking their own deaths to dodge mating, a study in Royal Society Open Science found.
The research shows that there are survival purposes behind the efforts as "increased efforts by males …could even negatively affect female survival and thus lead to reproductive failure for both individuals."
During "mating balls" that take place during mating events, numerous males grab onto a female in a way that is considered "harassment, forced copulation, intimidation."
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Females risk death and although the reason is not clear, it's likely due to lack of oxygen and drowning. Tonic immobility can lead to bradycardia, a slow down of heartbeat, which could in turn reduce oxygen uptake through the skin. Further oxygen is depleted from the lungs as the fight commences.
The study reveals that tonic immobility as a way to avoid mating or male interference has only been discovered in a handful of species and only in one other amphibian.
