by Mindy Weisberger, Senior
Writer | April 01, 2016 07:23am ET
Elusive tadpoles of the Indian dancing
frog, known for its leg-waving dance moves, have been seen for the first time
ever.
Though scientists had known about the
adult frogs' graceful "dances," which lure mates and ward off rival
males, the juveniles of the species had never been seen before. That's likely
because during this developmental stage, the tadpoles live entirely below the
streambed surface, buried deeply in the silt and gravel. They make their
burrows in the forest rivers of the Western Ghats mountain range, along India 's
west coast.
Sathyabhama Das Biju, one of the study
authors and a biologist at the University
of Delhi in India , said in a statement that the
tadpole likely stayed hidden to science for so long because of such burrowing
habits, which are highly unusual in tadpoles.
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