Question

How many eggs are laid by a female frog at a time?
A) 100-200
B) 500-1000
C) 2500-3000
D) 5000-6000

Answer 1

Hint: Frogs are egg-laying amphibians. Fertilisation is external, with the male shedding sperm into the water where the female also sheds her eggs, and fertilisation is purely by chance. Of course, the number of sperm vastly outnumbers the numbers of eggs released to increase the chances.

Complete Answer:
- Whether the frog species spends most of its time on the land or not, they need to lay their eggs in water. This can be in the bottom of ponds, on pond vegetation, floating on the water, and in pools of rainwater or vernal pools.
- When the female’s eggs are ready to be laid, the male gets in the amplexus, stimulating her to release the eggs. This can go on for several days, with the male releasing millions of sperm and the female releasing up to 3000 eggs in total. In many species, the male frogs remain around to guard the eggs and develop tadpoles from predation and at times to ensure the eggs stay wet. The correct answer is option C.
- Options A and B are two small in number. Most of the eggs will be lost to predation. A and B are incorrect.

Hence the correct answer is option C.

Note: While most frogs lay eggs, there are some that give birth to live young. For example, in Darwin's frog, the male keeps the fertilised eggs in his vocal sac, releasing them when they hatch. In the genus Nectophrynoides, the fertilised eggs remain in the female’s oviduct.