Baby Carrier: Darwin's Frog (Rhinoderma darwinii)

About two weeks after the mother has laid her eggs, the father scoops them up in his mouth, and carries them in his vocal pouch. This is known as “vocal sac brooding.”

The eggs develop in the safety of this baggy pouch of skin – which isn’t being used to vocalize anyway, as breeding season is of course over.

Once swallowed, the eggs develop into tadpoles and grow – the father’s chest becomes noticeably swollen during this period. They remain in their dad’s vocal sac for another 50 to 70 days, surviving off of nutritious secretions from the lining of the vocal sac.

Once the tadpoles transform into baby frogs, they crawl out of their father’s mouth and hop away!