“developed laetissimus” can stay without eating on the back of the female several months in the hope of mating.
Le Monde Science and Medicine
Patience and length of time … The Tapaud Harlequin developed Laetissimus, who lives in the mountains of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia, will not lie the fountain. It is able to stay up to 135 days hanging on the back of the female, without eating, in the hope of copulating, reports the new scientist . It is a champion of the amplitude, this technique of coupling of the anoures which, devoid of penis, cling to the female to fertilize his eggs by leaving at a timely moment the sperm flow on them. Luis Alberto Rueda-Solano (University of Andes, Bogota) and colleagues indicate in Animal Behavior of Mars that the amplexus lasts from 70 to 135 days, that the most massive males (they do not exceed 4 cm) are the least likely to be dislodged by a rival, and that the gripping force can represent up to 52 times the weight of the animal. The first arrivals will be the best served, conclude the authors.