Female African treefrogs mate with multiple males for foam nests

Female African gray foam-nest treefrogs (Chiromantis xerampelina) mate with multiple males simultaneously, a system called simultaneous polyandry.

Males actively participate in nest construction by whipping fluid with their back legs alongside the female, increasing the overall whipping effort.

Larger foam nests built by group effort protect hundreds of eggs from desiccation, boosting tadpole survival rates.

The study introduces the nesting-assistance hypothesis, providing field evidence that extra male partners help build better nests.

The research was conducted by Phillip Byrne and Aimee Silla on a wild population across an entire breeding season.