Damn the Ribbits! Females Mate with Closest Frog

Poor male strawberry poison frog (Oophaga pumilio). It worked hard to woo the females with loud - and probably tiring - ribbits, but turns out, all that effort mattered not one bit:

Researchers have found that despite the male's best efforts to impress, females simply mate with the closest frog to them. By choosing a neighbor, females minimize the risk of not mating at all, as receptive females abound and they have only a short time to fertilize their eggs. [...]

Females can simply choose the closest frog as, after their fighting, all victorious males with an established territory are of an acceptable standard to mate. Why go further afield, when the guy next door is just as good?

Link (Image: Ivonne Meuche)

Previously on Neatorama: 30 Strangest Animal Mating Habits


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perhaps the male frogs aren't trying to impress the female with their croaks but are trying to trick her into thinking they are the closest frog by croaking the loudest. if you had two frogs an equal distance from the female frog whichever one could croak the loudest would seem closer
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