Specialized glands in the fingertips of some males may produce seductive chemical signals.
Field biologist Diana Abondano Almeida and her colleagues were studying chemical communication in amphibians and noticed a combination of quirks in male poison frogs. The males of some species have one markedly swollen fingertip on each hand that becomes even more bulbous during the reproductive season. Mating in frogs often includes “amplexus,” which often is where).
This placement — especially with the concurrence of swollen fingers in some species — seemed too specific to be “mere coincidence,” says Almeida, of Goethe University in Frankfurt. Other amphibians, such as salamanders, are known to use chemicals called sodefrin precursor-like factors, or SPFs, during courtship. Some salamanders produce these SPFs using skin glands and transfer them to their mate through close contact.
Almeida and her colleagues think the males are channeling these finger pharmaceuticals into the females’ nostrils or skin through the prolonged direct contact. Given that amplexus occurs well after the frogs have paired up, the pheromones probably aren’t used for attraction, Almeida says. Rather, they may kick off physiological changes in the female. “ could induce the female to deposit eggs, or at least accelerate this process.
Historically, frog courtship has been studied mostly with a focus on sound, particularly their repertoire of croaks and creaks, says Sarah Woodley, an integrative physiologist at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. But in recent years, researchers have started recognizing the role of the“They’re sophisticated animals,” Woodley says. “They are not just using one sensory modality to communicate. It’s not all about calling.
Almeida says there are plenty of next steps in this research. While the giant upswing in SPF transcripts certainly hints at the fingertips being specialized pheromone factories, future studies could find and isolate these proteins and determine if and how they influence the female frogs’ biology.
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