Image via dinoboy on Flickr

The Surinam toad could either be considered remarkable or disgusting (or maybe both). This species of toad is a unique example of the extraordinary reproductive techniques that some species have evolved to help ensure the survival of their young.

During mating, instead of releasing eggs and sperm directly into their aquatic environment and abandoning the eggs to fate, the male and female toads, through amplexus and complex movements, manage to embed the fertilized eggs into the dorsum of the female, where they develop. Some time in between two to four months, presumably depending on environmental conditions, fully-formed toadlets emerge from the pockets of the female’s dorsum.

The Surinam toad also utilizes some remarkable camouflage. Both its coloration and the shape of its body are reminiscent of a dead leaf, which certainly helps it to avoid predation as it navigates its aquatic environment. More on the frog’s bizarre lifecycle via Wikipedia:

Surinam toads are most well-known for their remarkable reproductive habits. Unlike the majority of toads, the males of this species cannot attract mates with croaks and other sounds often associated with these aquatic animals. Instead they produce a sharp clicking sound by snapping the hyoid bone in their throat. The partners rise from the floor while in amplexus and flip through the water in arcs. During each arc, the female releases 3-10 eggs, which get embedded in the skin on her back by the male’s movements. After implantation the eggs sink into the skin and form pockets over a period of several days, eventually taking on the appearance of an irregular honeycomb. The larvae develop through the tadpole stage inside these pockets, eventually emerging from the mother’s back as fully developed toads, though they are less than an inch long (2 cm). Once they have emerged from their mother’s back, the toads begin a largely solitary life.

Video: A female Surinam toad with eggs embedded into her dorsum.

Video: This video shows toadlets emerging from their mother’s dorsum.

Video: This video, in Japanese, shows the complete lifecycle of the Surinam toad. The video also shows the horror of onlookers, or their hysterical reactions rather, as they watch the toadlets emerge from their mother’s dorsum.

Video: Another video that shows toadlets emerging from pockets on their mother’s dorsum.

Video: Toadlets emerge from a Surinam toad’s dorsum at the Audubon Zoo.