Fruitarian Frogs May Be Doing Flowers a Favor

Because one of the frogs surfaced from its flowery snack clad in pollen, Dr. Toledo said, the team hypothesized that it was “actually very likely” that the species aids milk fruit tree pollination — accidentally taking pollen from flower to flower and causing reproduction — something amphibians weren’t thought to perform. This could also happen with other flowers of similar shapes. In fact, recordings the team made that night show frogs also slurping on nectar from alien bearded irises.

Confirming the discovery could add an amphibian to the surprisingly diverse list of recently discovered pollinators — there are pollinating rats, cockroaches and even lizards. The plethora of pollinators could push the limits of what we understand about relationships between animals and their environment.

But more observations are needed to say the frogs really are pollinating plants.

“We cannot say that these frogs are actually pollinators,” said Felipe Amorim, a pollination ecologist at São Paulo State University who was not involved in the research. “They are flower visitors, they are flower-visitor frogs. We have a lot to learn about this novel interaction.”

For instance, the mucus secreted by the frog’s skin needs to be tested to confirm it doesn’t spoil the pollen before it gets to its destination. Scientists also need to work out whether the pollen is ever delivered to other flowers and if it does successfully fertilize and germinate them. It’s also still unclear why this frog species has developed a liking for flora over fauna in the first place.

As both Xenohyla truncata and the Brazilian milk fruit tree are endangered species, understanding the intricacies of their relationship is imperative for their conservation.

“We are almost losing this kind of special, unique and extraordinary interaction before it can be found,” Dr. Amorim said. “When you lose ecological interactions, it prevents us from discovering many different things about ecosystem functioning in general.”