I was spawn under a wanderin' star...
How many of the millions of eggs in this muddy ditch of a womb will mature into adult froghood able to croak out their signature tune?
Female frogs lay up to 4000 eggs in one mass which the male fertilizes externally and then nature takes its course: predators, bacteria, mould, drought, pollution and cannibalism all claim an immense toll.
Although there are bucket loads of eggs clogging the watercourse here the odds against more than a very few actual froglets emerging.
Even if the ditch doesn't dry up as spring advances there will soon be little available nourishment apart from each other. Just as well really or we'd all be wading through amphibians.
It's apparent that the spawn is laid clump upon clump as the space fills up. The extra shows the difference between the new embryos like black dots, each in a protective globe of jelly, compared with slightly older comma stage where the surrounding jelly has begun to break down and dissolve allowing the tadpoles swim free. If any do survive into froghood the reality is they will not wander far but return to breed right here.
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