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The Courtship of Frogs

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The Reproductive Biology of Amphibians

Abstract

Frogs were once thought to have relatively uninteresting social behavior, but recent studies on tropical and temperate zone species have revealed a surprising diversity of social systems. There is a growing literature on anuran mating systems, aggression, spacing behavior, and territoriality (Wells 1977b). Unfortunately, many aspects of courtship have been neglected. I use the term “courtship” to refer to interactions between males and females leading to pair formation and mating, and I include the use of both long-range and short-range signals by courting males. The purpose of this paper is to bring together the largely anecdotal literature on anuran courtship and to outline a number of problems that require more detailed investigation.

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  1. Biological Sciences Group, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, 06268, USA

    Kentwood D. Wells

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  1. Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, USA

    Douglas H. Taylor  & Sheldon I. Guttman  & 

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Wells, K.D. (1977). The Courtship of Frogs. In: Taylor, D.H., Guttman, S.I. (eds) The Reproductive Biology of Amphibians. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-6781-0_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-6781-0_7

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