Surinamese pipa: it doesn't carry its own burden! Pipa Corvalho is a short-sighted frog.
The first person to describe the pipa and make drawings of it was the daughter of the famous Swiss publisher and engraver Maria Sibylla Merian. In 1705, her book about the animal world was published in Amsterdam. South America with many beautiful color engravings. So for the first time Europeans were able to see this amazing frog and were greatly amazed by her lifestyle and method of breeding.
Behavior
The Surinamese pipa spends most of its life in the water, only occasionally coming onto land. It does not stay long on land, moving in rapid leaps and trying to quickly get to the saving moisture.
Only in water does the amphibian feel calm, deftly maneuvering in the thick of aquatic vegetation. Its inconspicuous brown color makes it almost invisible at the bottom of the reservoir. Her eyes are located on the top of her head, so she can only look up and observe everything that happens on the surface of the water.
The slightest hesitation environment it captures with the help of special organs of the lateral line. The four-part outgrowths on the tips of the front fingers serve the amphibians as sensitive organs of touch and help them navigate freely in the underwater jungle.
Pipa Suriname is a predator and feeds mainly on insects, but at the first opportunity it will not deny itself the pleasure of feeding on small invertebrates and small fish. Having no teeth, the voracious frog swallows its prey whole. During periods of drought, it buries itself in the mud and patiently waits for the rainy season.
Reproduction
The mating season coincides with the beginning of the first showers. The female carries eggs ranging from 40 to 140 on her back. Her skin has a loose structure, so the eggs penetrate deeply into the skin, which is densely penetrated blood vessels. After a few days, they completely hide in special cells, on which leathery caps are formed from the egg membranes.
Each cell is up to 1.5 cm deep, and the partitions separating them are very thin. Many blood vessels pass through the septa.
A few days later, tadpoles develop from the eggs. The function of their external gills is performed by large caudal fins. Gas exchange processes occur between the mother’s blood and the blood of the tadpoles. Tadpoles also receive from her body everything they need for their growth. nutrients. At 8-9 weeks of their life, they begin to turn into frogs. This metamorphosis lasts about 2-3 weeks, after which the young frogs rupture their cells and leave the mother, immediately beginning an independent life.
Description
Body length adult 5-20 cm. The body is strongly flattened, almost square. The color of the upper side is yellowish or dark brown, with a dense scattering of dark spots.
The abdomen is whitish with small dark specks. Stretches along the stomach black line. The back is covered with spongy skin, which sometimes has small depressions.
The head is short, triangular in shape. The mouth is pointed and opens very wide. The four-part tactile projections on the tips of the toes of the front paws are called stellate organs. The palms of the small front paws end in four fingers. The massive hind legs end in three toes, which are connected by swimming membranes.
The lifespan of the Suriname pipa is about 15 years.
Niramin - Mar 17th, 2016
The pipa toad lives in the savannas of South America, preferring any body of water for its residence during the dry season: rivers, ponds, irrigation canals and even half-dried puddles. With the onset of the wet season, these amphibians get out of their homes and set off on a journey through the flooded tropical forests to continue your family line.
The pipa toad looks like a flat, quadrangular-shaped leaf. The triangular head has upward-facing eyes, and flaps of skin at the corners of the mouth resemble tentacles. The body length of an adult is about 20 cm. The pipa's body is colored brown and gray, corresponding to the muddy bottom where it usually spends most of its time. Unlike ordinary frogs, pipas do not have membranes on their forelimbs. Instead of membranes, this toad has thin, long fingers, with which it digs in the bottom mud in search of food. The hind limbs are strong and powerful, equipped with membranes with which the pipa swims. Interestingly, these representatives of amphibians lack teeth and tongue. In addition to these features, this toad emits a rather harsh and bad smell, reminiscent of the smell of sulfur.
Pipa feeds on small living creatures that it finds in the mud: worms, small fish and various food particles.
Despite its ugly appearance and unpleasant smell, the pipa toad is considered an example of caring for its offspring. The fact is that the female carries her eggs directly on her back. First she lays eggs like common frog, but the male picks them up and places them in special cells formed on the female’s back. As they develop, the eggs enlarge and are increasingly pressed into the deepening cells. Over the course of 80-85 days, the embryos turn into tadpoles, from which tiny cubs develop. The finally formed babies break the outer shell and climb out to begin their independent life.
Photo: Pipa with eggs on her back.
Photo: A frog embryo on the back of a female pipa.
Video: Pipa Suriname Toad
Video: Zoology: Surinamese pipa - caring for offspring
Video: Amazing Pipa Pipa Toad Birth!
Frogs, pipa suriname, pipa photo, hymenochirus, clawed frog, maintenance, care - 4.3 out of 5 based on 16 votes
Frogs: pipa, clawed frog, Hymenochirus
Pip frogs (lat. Pipidae) are a family of tailless amphibians. Representatives of three genera are often kept at home: the African clawed frog genera Xenopus, the dwarf clawed frog Hymenochirus, and the South American pipa genus Pipa.
The appearance of representatives of this family is quite diverse. The front legs are usually without a swimming membrane, the hind legs are larger with a membrane. The coloring of all representatives is quite nondescript.
The peculiarity of pipidae is the absence of a tongue. These amphibians almost never leave the water; only in the dry season can they migrate to bodies of water that have not yet dried up. Due to life under water, their eyes became small and lost their eyelids, and their tongue and eardrum atrophied. The anatomy of the limbs has also undergone changes: between the fingers of powerful hind legs The swimming membrane has noticeably increased, and in some species the membrane has even appeared on the front legs.
Good living conditions ensure the lifespan of clawed frogs up to 15 years, and dwarf pips up to 10 years. The age of Hymenochirus is somewhat shorter.
To prevent frogs from accidentally getting out of the aquarium, and to prevent dust from getting into the aquarium, it is necessary to cover it with glass on top. In the glass covering the aquarium, of course, there should be sufficient quantity ventilation holes: after all, frogs breathe by rising to the surface of the water and swallowing atmospheric air. There should be no metal parts or devices in the aquarium, as well as sharp objects.
When cleaning an aquarium, use regular water for replacement. tap water, standing for one or two days. Naturally, this should be avoided sharp changes temperature. Blowing water with a microcompressor, despite the pulmonary breathing of amphibians, is useful, but if it is not there, it is also not a problem. Pips are kept in aquariums with good water filtration. But you shouldn’t use powerful filters: pip filters don’t like fast flows with bubbles.
It is better to use fine river gravel or granite chips 4-6 millimeters in size as soil in the aquarium. Such soil is inconvenient to stir up, and it will not muddy the pond. Sand, on the contrary, contributes to the accumulation of silt, frogs in search of food stir it up, and the water in the aquarium becomes dirty. For clawed frogs, shelters are placed at the bottom; peeps can be kept even without soil. Aquatic plants are placed in aquariums with dwarf clawfoots. Plants suitable are large enough, with strong stems and leaves, and a powerful root system. Considering the habit of frogs to dig under unstable objects, bottom part bushes of plants should be surrounded with stones.
Features of keeping clawed frogs
A very convenient amphibian for home care. It does not require frequent cleaning of the aquarium; the temperature range at which the frog can live is quite wide. It feels good both at a temperature of 25 °C and at 18 °C.
IN natural conditions lives in swamps with a minimum amount of oxygen dissolved in water, being content with oxygen obtained from atmospheric air. Therefore, when keeping clawed frogs, there is no need to artificially aerate the water. Moreover, this species of tailless amphibians is adapted to live in standing water, and artificial aeration or water filtration, which creates constant water movement, causes them discomfort.
The main disadvantages of clawed frogs are: large sizes and predatory habits. If they are placed together with fish, the frogs will definitely eat all their smaller and weaker neighbors. Peeps are only dangerous to small things the size of guppy and neons. And for the completely harmless Hymenochirus, on the contrary, the proximity of large, voracious and cocky fish is extremely undesirable.
Features of the content of hymenochirus
The most capricious of water frogs. It is advisable to maintain the water temperature for them at least 20, and preferably 24°C, since in cool water the body’s resistance to infectious and fungal diseases sharply decreases.
Spacious aquariums are used to keep pips. The volume should be no less than 100 liters per couple, but 200 - 300 is better.. Optimal temperature 26 degrees.
Even very small aquariums, from 20 liters per couple, which are filled with water to 1/2 - 2/3 of the volume, are suitable for keeping clawed frogs. A 4-6 centimeter layer of fine gravel is poured onto the bottom, in which plants can be planted, but if the aquarium is small, animals will quickly tear them out. At the bottom there are several shelters made of driftwood, stones and ceramic pots. Temperature 18 - 25 degrees.
If necessary, heaters and thermostats can be used. It should be remembered that equipment, especially glass, must be securely strengthened, since frogs try to crawl into any crack.
It must be remembered that frogs are rather nervous and impressionable creatures. They do not like loud noises, such as knocking, near the aquarium. In a panic, the frogs begin to rush about sharply, hitting walls, stones, plants, lifting silt from the bottom. This timidity does not go away for the rest of their lives.
Feeding the frogs
Pip's tendency to overeating and obesity. But don't indulge their appetite. When feeding, give them only as much food as they can eat in fifteen minutes without leaving any leftovers.
Diet of pipidae: worms, mollusks, insects and their larvae, organic remains from decomposed animal corpses, regular food aquarium fish- bloodworms, daphnia, pieces raw beef, birds, fish. Live bloodworms quickly burrow into the ground and may contain infection, so it is better to freeze them for feeding. Tubifex calls food poisoning, it’s better not to feed them. You can also include strips of fresh lean meat in your diet. Fatty food bad for health! Hymenochirus and young frogs are fed once every two to three days, adults, pips and spur frogs - twice a week. Those who are suspiciously overweight can be kept on a fasting diet for one to one and a half weeks.
If frogs are regularly fed by hand, they soon cease to be afraid of humans and allow themselves to be touched. But there is no need to take them out of the water.
Representatives of the pipaceae family
Clawed frog (Xenopus levis).
Description. The head is small, flattened, the muzzle is short, round, the eyes are turned upward. There is a short tactile thread near the eye, folds with dark spots and streaks run along the sides of the body, the anus in females is hidden by folds. The hind limbs are muscular, highly developed, there are membranes between the toes, the toes end in sharp dark claws with which frogs tear apart prey. The front ones are short, with long fingers without membranes, paws turned inward. The back and sides are brown with dark spots and streaks. There is also an albino form - pinkish-orange with red eyes. The body length of clawed frogs is up to 8 centimeters. Along the body of the clawed frog, on the sides, there are clearly visible depressions overgrown with dense small hairs.
Reproduction of clawed frogs
Before mating, the male develops black stripes on the sides of his toes and along his paws to their base. Males make a quiet "tick-tick" sound, reminiscent of the sound of a running clock. The male's mating call is quite melodious. During mating, the male grasps the female from behind. An hour later, egg laying begins. All eggs are placed singly on the stem of the plant. Soon outer layer the shells of the eggs harden like armor. After two days (at a temperature of 22–25 °C), the larvae hatch.
First, the tadpoles hang on plants and the walls of the aquarium. Two hours after hatching, the larvae begin to breathe through their lungs, periodically swimming to the surface of the water and swallowing air. From the fourth day, long thin “whiskers” – tactile threads – appear in the corners of the mouth. They are usually directed forward and only when moving towards the surface they deviate backward. In green, muddy water, tactile “whiskers” are necessary, since it is difficult to see the danger with the eyes.
Instead of internal gills, the tadpole has a filtering apparatus through which the water sucked into the mouth passes. Strained from water unicellular algae and small ciliates.
At home, tadpoles are fed with boiled spinach and lettuce. The mass is crushed (for example, rubbed through a colander) to the consistency of mush and dissolved little by little in water.
After 2–3 months, the tadpoles already have four limbs, and the body becomes opaque. The tailed frog already rests horizontally on the leaves of plants and on the ground. You need to feed live daphnia. From the fourth month, baby frogs can be given planed meat (should be cut along the grain), later - chopped small pieces. Frogs reach sexual maturity in the third year of life.
Hymenochirus boettgery.
Description. She is very tiny - body length 3.5–4 centimeters. Outwardly they resemble young spurs, but their body is longer, their limbs are thinner, their muzzle is pointed, with nostrils at the end. The coloring is the same as that of spurs - dark gray with numerous brown spots, the belly is lighter, with small spots. On the forelimbs there are small membranes between the toes. Females are plumper than males, and their sides are rounded before mating.
Reproduction of Hymenochirus
When the water temperature rises (up to 26–28 °C) and the light intensity increases, hymenochiruses begin to prepare for reproduction. After replacing part of the water with fresh warm water, mating occurs. The eggs, dark on one side, float on the surface of the water. After a day or two, completely black tadpoles about 3 millimeters long emerge and attach to the plants. On the 4th–5th day they begin to swim and feed on ciliates. They are fed in the same way as aquarium fish fry. The development of the tadpole occurs very quickly - within one month.
Pipa
Description. The body of these frogs is more flattened (especially in males) than that of clawed frogs; when viewed from above, the head has a triangular structure typical of pips. At the ends of the fingers of the forelimbs there are also star-shaped formations characteristic of pips. The back is brown-gray, the belly has dark spots. Young peeps are lighter in color, the belly is whitish, and the head is dark underneath.
Reproduction of pip
Pipas become sexually mature when they reach a length of 5–6 centimeters ( maximum length bodies without limbs - 8–9 centimeters). Males fewer females, when viewed from the side, more flattened, sometimes their color is darker. The capture of a female by a male occurs as in all tailless amphibians. First there is a series of short test captures. If the female is not ready, the male releases her. Ready female becomes numb, a slight trembling runs through the body. Having received such a signal, the male firmly closes his forelimbs. In this position, frogs can swim for a day. Typically, capture occurs at night, and the act of copulation itself occurs at dawn. The copulating pair swims in open space and suddenly turns over with their belly up 5–10 centimeters from the surface. The male is on the bottom, his abdomen lags behind the female’s back. At this moment, 6–12 eggs emerge from the female’s cloaca. Under the influence of gravity, they slide down and slightly forward (the heads of the frogs at this moment are lower than the rear parts of the body), fall into the gap between the back of the female and the abdomen of the male, who fertilizes them. Then the frogs take a normal position, and the male, with his abdomen, presses the sticky eggs into the female’s back.
Oviposition events follow one after another with an interval of 5–15 minutes. The number of eggs can vary from 50 to 170. Naturally, subsequent clutches cause more problems for the male than the first: with his abdomen he forms the eggs so that they lie on his back in one row, although new clutches in a fertile couple slide over the eggs pressed to their back. With his hind legs, carrying them far forward, the male collects eggs from the sides of the body and from the head of the female and forms not only a vertical single row of eggs, but also a horizontal compactness of the clutch strictly on a certain area of the back. Individual eggs may be lost; they fall to the bottom, stick to the plants, but will no longer be able to develop. Eggs removed from the back of the female and placed in ideal conditions (aeration, water filtration) in a separate vessel also do not develop. Pressing the eggs into the back of the female by the male is one of the important points successful reproduction; it is possible that the eggs receive nutrition and oxygen from the female.
After laying eggs, the male loosens his grip and moves away from the female. Now the entire clutch on her back is clearly visible: large eggs (up to 1.4 millimeters in diameter) Ivory(the degree of yellowness varies) lie in a dense compact layer without breaks in the middle of the masonry. They are pressed 1/4 into the back of the female. So she swims and starts eating. Since they are sticky, litter, pieces of plants, etc. stick to the eggs.
Next begins interesting process. On the back of a frog, in usual time uneven and covered with rows of tubercles, after three hours a gray spongy mass appears. Within a day, it swells so much that the eggs are completely immersed in it, only their light tops are visible - something like an old cobblestone street, long clogged with dirt. And what’s interesting: rising from below, the mass pushes aside all the adhering debris and crumbs, and the eggs sink into it absolutely clean. But this is not enough - not only garbage is taken out, but also unfertilized, defective eggs.
Then the female begins to rub against stones and plants - molting occurs. Together with old skin Unproductive eggs are also separated and pushed onto the surface of the back. Now the female’s back is flat, without bumps or folds, the thickening begins immediately behind the head.
At room temperature, embryos mature in 15 days, at 26–28 °C – in 10–12. 3–4 days before the tadpoles emerge, a small hole is formed above each egg, through which water enters for the intensively breathing embryo. The female's entire back becomes like a strainer. A day or two before the tadpole emerges, the egg shell swells and a tubercle with a hole at the top forms above it. Since the maturation of eggs occurs unevenly, the back becomes covered with bumps here and there.
A strong tadpole flies out like a rocket from an underground mine. Some emerge from the egg shell slowly, head or tail first. These days the frog's back is covered with heads and tails. Strong tadpoles just as quickly head to the surface of the water to grab an air bubble, weak ones fall to the bottom and reach the surface in two or three attempts. After this, the tadpoles begin to swim horizontally. Their almost spherical body has a diameter of 2.5–3 millimeters, a transparent tail – 7–9. Floating tadpoles group in a school, quickly flee from predators, and can burrow into the mud. After the tadpoles emerge, the frog begins to rub against the stones, removing the remains of the egg membranes from its back. Then the molt occurs, and the female is again ready to mate.
On the second day, the tadpoles begin to feed. Like the clawed frog, the pipa's tadpoles are filter feeders. But they need different food - a thick mass of bacteria and ciliates; At the same time, it is necessary that the water remains fresh. Feeding pipa tadpoles is much more difficult. Nettle powder will do.
Reproduction and development of these most interesting frogs proceed normally at water temperatures from 20 to 30 ° C and hardness up to 5 units. Using harder water comes with many challenges and setbacks.
Aeration, especially strong aeration, is harmful to tadpoles. You cannot leave them in a pond with adult frogs - the tadpoles die from their secretions. Thus, the most difficult thing in breeding pips is feeding the offspring and creating suitable conditions for them.
Tadpole development and metamorphosis last 6–8 weeks. Before turning into frogs, tadpoles reach a length of 35–40 millimeters. The hind limbs appear first, then the forelimbs. Then the tail decreases, the tadpole lives off the protein accumulated in it and does not feed at this time. It is slow and floats in the water column. This is where you need to catch it in order to put it in an aquarium for the young frogs: later it will be difficult to catch it - the young frogs are swift and know how to hide well.
Rating 4.34 (16 Votes)Pipa toad Suriname - interesting resident aquarium! An aquarium in the house is both an attractive piece of furniture and unique opportunity observe the world they live in underwater inhabitants. More common in people's homes freshwater aquariums, in which live bright tropical fish.
Less common to see marine aquariums With amazing inhabitants warm seas.
Of course, it’s interesting to watch the fish, but they don’t do anything special. And the aquarium becomes commonplace, no longer surprising. Everything can be changed if you start unusual inhabitant, which will be interesting to watch.
Instead of fish, you can put a pipa toad in the aquarium, which is rarely kept by Russian aquarists.
The Surinamese pipa is a toad that lives in bodies of water. small size, in Ecuador, Bolivia, Suriname, Peru and Brazil. She lives in water and moves slowly and awkwardly on land.
Appearance
Looking at this amphibian in natural environment, you might think that this is a tree leaf with sharp tips that has fallen into the water. The body of the pipa resembles just such a leaf. The head is triangular and has no transition to the body. The body is quadrangular in shape.
The toad's eyes are small and look up. Small flaps of leather hang at the corners of the mouth. Pipa Suriname is a fairly large amphibian, it can reach a length of almost 20 cm. Only the goliath frog is larger than it.
The front legs of the pipa are thinner than the hind legs, which are also much thicker. On hind legs the fingers are thin with sharp ends, connected by a sheet of skin - a membrane.
In adult females, the skin on the back becomes folded, in some cases cells are visible. The color of the toad ranges from gray to dark brown. The abdomen is almost white, sometimes with a dark stripe.
Life in nature
Toad settles in small ponds, irrigation canals. Pipa doesn't leave aquatic environment throughout life. In order to get food, the pipa digs up the bottom soil with its front paws and grabs pieces of food from the raised turbidity. It may also feed on stationary edible objects.
For comfortable life pairs of toads in captivity needed large aquarium. From 100 to 300 liters. The bottom of the aquarium is covered with small pebbles, although they can do just fine without it. Plants, both live and artificial, can be used as decorations.
The aquarium must have a powerful filter. Peeps need warm water, the temperature of which is not lower than +27C. You can feed these strange animals with live food for large fish and small fish.
Reproduction
The strange thing about the pipa toad is how it reproduces. Little frogs emerge straight from the mother frog's back. And these are not tadpoles, but fully formed frogs. And their number is not one or two or three, but about a hundred.
Naturally, the appearance of baby frogs cannot be called in every sense childbirth. The eggs develop in the same way as in all other amphibians. The only difference is in the place where they develop.
In order for frogs to appear, both parents take part in this process. As soon as the female lays an egg, the male picks it up and places it on the female’s back in a special depression that appears on the pipa at the time of reproduction.
This is what the male does with all the laid eggs, and there are from 50 to 150 of them. In order for the eggs to be better attached to the back of the female, he presses them with his stomach.
The recesses in which the eggs are located quickly increase in size and become honeycomb-like. From the top of the egg, due to its drying, an almost transparent lid is formed. It is in these honeycomb holes that the future frogs grow, going through all the stages of amphibian development.
First, an embryo appears, which over time becomes a tadpole. Further development occurs in the same depression. The tadpoles become little frogs.
The development and maturation of embryos in warm water will occur in 10-12 days. If water room temperature embryo development slows down to 15 days.
When the time comes to go out into the adult world, little peeps lift the lid of the dome, which at this time is already swollen, and swim out of the cozy cradle on the back of the mother frog.
Strong frogs quickly leave the mother's back, weaker ones emerge slowly, often with their hind legs first.
The babies, having left their nest, quickly swim to the surface to start breathing. After two days they begin to feed on their own.
After all the frogs have left their backs, the female begins to rub her back against the pebbles, removing the remains of the egg shells. After molting, the Suriname pipa toad is ready to mate again!
The Surinamese pipa, or American pipa (lat. Pipa pipa) is an amphibian animal that belongs to the order Tailless, family Pipaceae, genus pipa.
Surinamese pipa - description, structure and photo.
Appearance Surinamese pipa quite unusual. The almost quadrangular body is 12-20 cm long and is so flattened that it often resembles a piece of parchment or a rotten leaf of wood. Moreover, males are smaller than females and have a more flattened body. The head of the Surinamese pipa is triangular in shape and also strongly flattened. Protruding eyes very tiny, without eyelids, located almost near the mouth.
The Suriname pipa differs from its closest relatives, the clawed frogs, in the complete absence of teeth. The pipa also does not have a tongue. In front of the eyes and in the corners of the mouth, this amphibian has flaps of skin that look a little like tentacles. A distinctive feature of the male Surinamese pipa is a characteristic triangular shaped bone box in the pharynx area.
The body of the Surinamese pipa is covered with rough, wrinkled skin of a yellowish, gray or blackish-brown color. The belly of the amphibian is colored somewhat lighter, sometimes decorated with white spots or a black stripe running along the belly. The skin on the back of adult pips is folded and wrinkled, and in old females it may have a honeycombed surface.
Taken from: animals.sandiegozoo.org
The front paws of the Surinamese pipa are distinguished by four long toes, devoid of claws and membranes. At the end of each finger, star-like appendages grow, which is why the pipu is often called the star-toed one. This structure of the forelimbs allows the animal to deftly rake the muddy bottom and get something edible from there. The hind legs of the pipa, like those of most or, are very strong, much thicker than the front ones and are endowed with swimming membranes.
Also, Surinamese pipas emit an unpleasant odor reminiscent of hydrogen sulfide vapor.
Where does the Surinamese pipa live?
The Surinamese pipa is a miracle of nature that prefers muddy water and lives exclusively in slow flowing rivers, as well as in lakes, irrigation canals and artificial reservoirs in South America: Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Brazil, Guyana, French Guiana, the Republic of Suriname, Ecuador, Peru. Individuals are also found in the southern and eastern parts of the island of Trinidad.
The respiratory system of the Surinamese pipa is well developed, but despite this, the animals lead an almost completely aquatic lifestyle: during drought they sit out in half-dried puddles, and with the onset of the rainy season they happily travel through the flooded jungle tracts of the Amazon River basin.
What does the Surinamese pipa eat?
Surinamese pipas are extremely unpretentious and feed on what they can find in the bottom silt. The animal happily feasts on mollusks, worms, small fish species, larvae and all kinds of organic debris.
Surinamese pipa: reproduction.
These amphibians reach reproductive age by 6 years. The breeding season of the Surinamese pipa is usually confined to the rainy season. In search of a female, males make characteristic clicking sounds, similar to the ticking of a watch with a slight metallic note. Often competitors fight among themselves, pushing with their long front paws.
Reproduction of the Surinamese pipa is the most interesting, unusual and distinctive feature these amphibians. Mating games occur in the thickness muddy water, and the male, like all tailless amphibians, makes several experimental grabs of the female. The male immediately releases an individual that is not ready for mating. A sexually mature female immediately falls into a stupor from such hugs, and her body is seized with a slight trembling. After such a signal, the male thoroughly covers the female from above with his forelimbs, and the couple can remain in this state for days on end.
Before the act of copulation, the partners abruptly turn over with their bellies up, being in close proximity to the surface of the water, and the male Surinamese pipa ends up from below, directly under the back of the female. Spawning is done in portions, and for this the male presses on the female’s ovipositor located on the back: first, from 6 to 12 yellowish eggs with a diameter of 6-7 mm appear from the pipa’s cloaca. Under the influence of gravity, the eggs descend to the belly of the male, who fertilizes them. Then the pair turns over to a normal position, the female swims down, the eggs slowly settle on her back, and the male, with his body and hind legs, seems to press the eggs into the female’s back.
If a female Surinamese pipa becomes a mother for the first time, then irritation of the skin around each egg forms a hexagonal cell 1-1.5 cm deep with a valve from the egg shell - a kind of incubator for future offspring. The partitions that separate the cells are very thin and rich in blood vessels. What is interesting: after the first fertilization, the back of the female Surinamese pipa remains cellular for life.
Pipa spawning occurs for 10-12 hours, with an interval of 10-15 minutes, and here the male has to work hard. With his hind paws, the male collects eggs from the sides of the female and lays them in even, clear, vertical and horizontal rows without a single skip. The development and viability of future young Surinamese pips depends on how successfully the laying of eggs in the female’s back takes place.
The male does not have time to pick up some of the caviar of the Surinamese pipa, and it falls to the bottom or sticks to aquatic plants. Unfortunately, without special conditions created only on the mother’s back, the eggs cannot develop and therefore die.
When the last portion of eggs is swept and laid, the clutch can range from 40 to 144 eggs. Having completed its mission, the male Surinamese pipa swims away, and the female has an 11-12 week incubation period, during which the offspring develop into ideal conditions on the mother's back. After a few hours, a spongy mass forms on the female's back gray, which swells so much within a day that the entire caviar is completely immersed in this substance, leaving the very tops on the surface.
During the incubation period, a young Surinamese pipa develops inside each egg. As the young grow, the cell cavities become larger. Pipa eggs are rich in yolk and reach a diameter of 6-7 mm. At the beginning of its development, each egg weighs approximately 2.95 g; by the end of development, the weight increases to 3.37 g. After approximately 80 days, a fully formed pipa first carefully peeks out from under the lid of its cell, and then carefully crawls out, completely ready to independent life. Freed from the offspring, the mother cleans off the remains of the egg shells on stones and plant stems, molts and grows new skin until the next mating season.