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Kōrero: Frogs

Male native frog brooding eggs

Image
Male native frog brooding eggs

Native frog females lay a small number of large eggs in a damp, covered site. As seen here, the males of three of the species (Archey’s, Maud Island and Hamilton’s frogs) guard the eggs continuously while a tadpole grows inside the egg (nourished by the yolk). This then hatches as a well-formed froglet with a tail. In contrast, Hochstetter’s frogs leave the eggs unguarded near flowing water, and the young hatch at a slightly earlier stage of development.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Department of Conservation

Reference: 10034449

by Steve Pilkington

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Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Paddy Ryan, Frogs – Frogs in New Zealand, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/9986/male-native-frog-brooding-eggs (accessed 25 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Paddy Ryan, i tāngia i te 1 March 2009.