confusion

[Ray Hamilton]

Finally, this morning sees the first hard frost in central England!

[Pierre-Yves Vaucher]

Somebody, a member on my forum wrote that on the 24th of december 2011.... (google translate)

But this year they mate (Bufo bufo) it since late November, and it comes
to be the last week the births of toad tadpoles and this
against all logic, the bulk of winter still to come.

Whats happend ???

amphibians can reproduce at any time of the year, after a period of drought followed by heavy rains, including in winter? I know that the reproduction is not tied to a timetable but to conditions of temperature, humidity and light ...

I have seen sometimes some Podarcis, Alytes, Bufo and Ichtyosaura in sweet weather in december but never heard about mating !!!

[Michal Szkudlarek]

Dear Daniel, after reading BEHAVIORAL DEFENSES OF ANURANS: AN OVERVIEW (http://www.athena.biblioteca.unesp.br/e ... r_rcla.pdf page 151) and A note on the Unkenreflex and similar defensive postures in Rana temporaria (Anura, Amphibia) (http://vipersgarden.at/PDF_files/PDF-351.pdf) I got an idea that probably most (if not all) "unkenreflexes" at Rana spp. and Bufo spp. should be called "eye-protection reflex" as more precise term. What do You think about this? Do You agree with me?
Greetings

[Daniel Kane]

Michal, I think that Haberl & Wilkinson may have got it right with that one. This behaviour is suggestive of eye/head-protection - the grass frog is not brightly coloured so no way of startling a predator with warning colours like the Bombina sp.. I guess what other function could this eye-covering behaviour serve other then to protect the head?!

[Michal Szkudlarek]

And probably also to widen front part of body that makes frog unreachable for some predators due to its putative size.