Editing Amphibian (section)

=== Parental care ===
[[File:Panama Poison Dart Frog Colostethus panamensis with tadpoles.jpg|thumb|alt=Common rocket frog|Male [[common rocket frog]] (''Colostethus panamensis'') carrying tadpoles on his back]]

The care of offspring among amphibians has been little studied but, in general, the larger the number of eggs in a batch, the less likely it is that any degree of parental care takes place. Nevertheless, it is estimated that in up to 20% of amphibian species, one or both adults play some role in the care of the young.<ref>{{cite book|last=Crump| first=Martha L.| year=1996| chapter=Parental care among the Amphibia| volume=25| pages=109–144| doi=10.1016/S0065-3454(08)60331-9 | series=Advances in the Study of Behavior| isbn=978-0-12-004525-9| title=Parental Care: Evolution, Mechanisms, and Adaptive Significance}}</ref> Those species that breed in smaller water bodies or other specialised habitats tend to have complex patterns of behaviour in the care of their young.<ref name="Brown1">{{cite journal | doi=10.1086/650727 | last1=Brown | first1=J. L. | last2=Morales | first2=V. | last3=Summers | first3=K. | year=2010 | title=A key ecological trait drove the evolution of biparental care and monogamy in an amphibian | journal=American Naturalist | volume=175 | issue=4 | pages=436–446 | pmid=20180700 | bibcode=2010ANat..175..436B | s2cid=20270737 | url=https://www.academia.edu/11096788 | access-date=November 10, 2016 | archive-date=July 29, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729203806/https://www.academia.edu/11096788/A_Key_Ecological_Trait_Drove_the_Evolution_of_Biparental_Care_and_Monogamy_in_an_Amphibian | url-status=live }}</ref>

Many woodland salamanders lay clutches of eggs under dead logs or stones on land. The [[black mountain salamander]] (''Desmognathus welteri'') does this, the mother brooding the eggs and guarding them from predation as the embryos feed on the yolks of their eggs. When fully developed, they break their way out of the egg capsules and disperse as juvenile salamanders.{{sfn | Dorit | Walker | Barnes | 1991 | pp=853–854 }} The male hellbender, a primitive salamander, excavates an underwater nest and encourages females to lay there. The male then guards the site for the two or three months before the eggs hatch, using body undulations to fan the eggs and increase their supply of oxygen.<ref name="EHSAR" />

[[File:Alytes obstetricans almogavarii - male with eggs 2.jpg|thumb|left|Male [[common midwife toad]] (''Alytes obstetricans'') carrying eggs]]
The male ''[[Colostethus subpunctatus]]'', a tiny frog, protects the egg cluster which is hidden under a stone or log. When the eggs hatch, the male transports the tadpoles on his back, stuck there by a mucous secretion, to a temporary pool where he dips himself into the water and the tadpoles drop off.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Fandiño, María Claudia |author2=Lüddecke, Horst |author3=Amézquita, Adolfo |year=1997 |title=Vocalisation and larval transportation of male ''Colostethus subpunctatus'' (Anura: Dendrobatidae) |journal=Amphibia-Reptilia |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=39–48 |doi=10.1163/156853897X00297 }}</ref> The male [[Common midwife toad|midwife toad]] (''Alytes obstetricans'') winds egg strings round his thighs and carries the eggs around for up to eight weeks. He keeps them moist and when they are ready to hatch, he visits a pond or ditch and releases the tadpoles.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://amphibiaweb.org/cgi-bin/amphib_query?where-genus=Alytes&where-species=obstetricans |title=''Alytes obstetricans'' |author=van der Meijden, Arie |date=January 18, 2010 |publisher=AmphibiaWeb |access-date=November 29, 2012 |archive-date=December 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121225004602/http://amphibiaweb.org/cgi-bin/amphib_query?where-genus=Alytes&where-species=obstetricans |url-status=live }}</ref> The female [[gastric-brooding frog]] (''Rheobatrachus spp.'') reared larvae in her stomach after swallowing either the eggs or hatchlings; however, this stage was never observed before the species became extinct. The tadpoles secrete a hormone that inhibits digestion in the mother whilst they develop by consuming their very large yolk supply.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Rheobatrachus_silus.html |title=''Rheobatrachus silus'' |author=Semeyn, E. |year=2002 |work=Animal Diversity Web |publisher=University of Michigan Museum of Zoology |access-date=August 5, 2012 |archive-date=July 6, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120706021952/http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Rheobatrachus_silus.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[pouched frog]] (''Assa darlingtoni'') lays eggs on the ground. When they hatch, the male carries the tadpoles around in brood pouches on his hind legs.<ref>{{cite iucn |author=IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group. |year=2023 |title=''Assa darlingtoni'' |page=e.T211150139A78440087 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T211150139A78440087.en}}</ref> The aquatic [[Surinam toad]] (''Pipa pipa'') raises its young in pores on its back where they remain until metamorphosis.<ref>{{cite iucn |author=IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group. |year=2023 |title=''Pipa pipa'' |page=e.T58163A85900348 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T58163A85900348.en}}</ref> The granular poison frog (''Oophaga granulifera'') is typical of a number of tree frogs in the poison dart frog family [[Dendrobatidae]]. Its eggs are laid on the forest floor and when they hatch, the tadpoles are carried one by one on the back of an adult to a suitable water-filled crevice such as the [[wikt:axil|axil]] of a leaf or the [[Rosette (botany)|rosette]] of a [[Bromeliaceae|bromeliad]]. The female visits the nursery sites regularly and deposits unfertilised eggs in the water and these are consumed by the tadpoles.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=van Wijngaarden, René |author2=Bolaños, Federico |year=1992 |title=Parental care in ''Dendrobates granuliferus'' (Anura: Dendrobatidae), with a description of the tadpole |journal=Journal of Herpetology |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=102–105 |jstor=1565037 |doi=10.2307/1565037 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275943004 |access-date=November 10, 2016 |archive-date=October 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004045905/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275943004 |url-status=live }}</ref>