Thursday 1 May 2014

See-Through Frog Embryos Know When Dad's Not Watching

By Charles Q. Choi, Live Science Contributor | April 29, 2014 07:01pm ET

With their hearts, guts and other internal organs visible through translucent skin, glass frogs look vulnerable.

Now, scientists have found that the embryos of these nocturnal frogs do not like staying defenseless, so they hatch more quickly when their fathers desert them.

The early stages of life are usually the most vulnerable, and parents across many animal species protect their embryos as they develop. Birds typically brood their own eggs, resting on top of them for incubation, while humans and similar mammals protect embryos within themselves during pregnancy. There are exceptions to such rules — for instance, cuckoos get other birds to brood their eggs.

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