Style and power: Meet the frog who maims rivals with his mustache

The sages already said: with big mustaches come great responsibilities. However, as well as famous figures such as actor Tom Selleck (from the movie “Three Bachelors and One Baby” and the series “Friends”) and singer Freddie Mercury have a powerful image and have marked themselves in eternity, certainly none of them stayed. famous for using his facial hair to mutilate his rivals.

This type of attitude is best expected of Leptobrachium boringii, better known as the Emei Mustache Toad, native to a hilltop region in China. For a month each year, the males develop extremely sharp facial thorns, which they use to poke rivals at the most coveted nesting grounds.

The vast majority of fighters end up seriously injured, but the winners gain the valuable right to reproduce. Losers just have to crawl back home to ponder never wanting to be ashamed of trying to grow a mustache again - just like me, every time I've tried.

Full Arsenal of a Mutant

The amphibian weapons in question are called - no kidding - bridal pimples and are made of the same material as our nails, keratin. The pointed structures grow through the frog's skin and fall only at the end of the mating season, although sometimes the thorns may detach during combat and force the fighter in question to wait for a new one to grow in its place.

And, as if the mustache-gun wasn't enough, the little animal still undergoes other transformations at this time. Her arms get considerably more muscular, which, according to evolutionary biologist Cameron Hudson, is as much a help in fighting as it is in order to have her partner see her, holding her tightly in the right position - if you were looking for a kind lover, this It is certainly not the best choice.

In addition, the mustache's skin becomes much looser, bent and wrinkled. "We think this transformation helps them stay longer in the water (since mating, fighting and nest protection are underwater) by increasing the skin's oxygen uptake by expanding its surface area, " says Hudson.

Conquering the chicks

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Once the bloody battles for the best nests are over, the victors settle down and wait for the females, singing when they appear. When one of them gets interested, she approaches and gently strokes his chin with her head, as if to say "I'm not one of those mustache-hating girls." He then takes his partner to know his facilities.

When they finally decide it's time to surrender, the male grabs his mate's hip and turns to his side. As she lays her eggs, they fertilize and stick to the roof of the nest. The pair does this as they spin, giving rise to a set of donut-shaped eggs.

Interestingly, if a couple has already completed their finalization and another male manages to drive out the owner of the nest, the new owner will not destroy his rival's future descendants. Although this is odd from an evolutionary standpoint, as the other's children will compete with their own, Hudson theorizes that this can happen because females prefer nests that already have eggs, as this may be a sign of a good mate, among others. other possibilities.

My son is your son

Image Source: Playback / Wired

Once the times of blood and sex have come to an end, the females simply walk away and leave the bunch of beefy looking after the offspring. They are spending a considerable amount of time scrubbing their eggs, which Hudson explains by saying that "maybe the male protective instinct is just really strong."

And that's how the same Emei Mustache Frogs that brutally maim their competitors often end up lovingly raising their rival's children as their own. Stopping to think, it's not much different from what happens in "Three bachelors in one baby" - if you disregard all the stabbing, of course.