Hello,

I noticed a mass of eggs in my pond the other day.

During the Spring of '05 I found something strange in my pond, which after further investigation turned out to be toad eggs. They were in gooey straw-like tubes that looked kind of like a bizarre beaded necklaces.

This new batch of eggs had a similar gooeyness to it, but it was in a mass that was slightly larger than a baseball instead of in strands. It was covered in algae and I didn't notice it right away. I was cleaning out one of my filters and I had accidentally stired up the water a bit. As the algae scattered from the blob I saw the eggs.

The eggs I found in '05 were in the water a very short time (maybe two days) before the pond was riddled with tadpoles. The new batch was in the water for at least 3 days before I began to question what they were.

I went through Robyn's Pond Egg Identification Page, which led me to think that they might be salamanders. I was still not convinced because it is October, and what I read about salamanders said that they lay eggs in the spring (frogs and toads too).

I was ready to send Robyn an e-mail to ask about this strange blob. I filled out the question list and went into the backyard to take a few photos and measure the eggs when I noticed that the blob was gone. I looked all around the pond for several minutes before noticing that there were a few tadpoles swimming around (far less than the batch from '05).

Is there a frog that lays eggs in the Fall? Apparently so. Can someone tell me what kind of frog/toad this might be?

I live in North Texas (near Dallas) and my house is very close to Lake Lewisville; to one side of my house and behind my backyard is Army CORP of Engineer's land that is a 100 year flood plain. The lake water rose into my backyard during the heavy rains this past Spring and the water was teeming with life (people were fishing catfish from the flooded street next to my house). I would not be surprised to find that some amphibian that had not been near my house before stumbled across my pond.


Here is my almost complete Q&A from Robyn's Pond Egg Identification Page:

1. Are the eggs in a ball/glob?
YES

2. Do the eggs float or sink?
SINK

3. What are the dimensions of the eggs (diameter if circular, please include the units)?


4. Are the eggs attached or not and to what (plant, rock, sticks, each other?).
YES, EACH OTHER

5. Are the eggs scattered or in a clump?
CLUMP

6. Are the eggs all together or all over the place?
ALL TOGETHER

7. Are the eggs stuck to a solid surface (rock, leaf) or just loose plants?
NO

8. Do you have snails, turtles, goldfish, koi, other fish, frogs, toads, salamanders, etc.
MY POND HAS SOME GOLDFISH, DURING THE SPRING OF '05 I FOUND TOAD EGGS

9. Do the eggs contain jelly?
APPEARS SO

10. Are the eggs in or out of the water?
IN THE WATER

11. What color are the eggs?


12. What does the inside of the eggs look like (clear, eyes, no eyes, movement, etc.)?


13. Where do you live?
NORTH TEXAS (Outside of Denton, Near Dallas)



Thanks in advance for any clues to the identity of this Fall-egg-laying amphibian.
-Drumbokas

Since the eggs were in a ball, that rules out toads. Salamanders usually spawn in late winter and early spring. I've not heard of them doing it this late in the yaer. Some frogs may lay eggs this last into the year, especially if it's still warm there. I'm not personally familiar with all the frog species in Texas. Here's a web site with a list:

http://www.zo.utexas.edu/research/txherps/frogs/

You can probably rule out the toads and the tree frogs (they're tiny and lay tiny eggs). I think the tropical ones they list are also small but I can't rule those out. So, the eggs probably belong to one of the Rana (true frog) species that they list. If you find photos of those various species, you could match them with any adult frogs that you see around. Most of the Rana species will lay eggs as long as it's still warm.

In summary: Since you actually found tadpoles, we can assume you actually found amphibian eggs (as opposed to say bryozoans or plant seeds which people have thought were eggs). Since the eggs weren't in a string, they're not toads. Since they weren't tiny, they're not tree frogs. Salamanders aren't likely. One of the true frogs seems likely. Maybe one day, you'll see an adult, if not the parents of these eggs, then the babies themselves when they grow up. Good luck!

Thanks for the link, that will help quite a bit.

While looking through the true frogs list, I read that the Crawfish Frog (Rana areolata) will live in "...abandoned crawfish holes, small mammal burrows, and storm sewers.).

I have many burrows and holes in my backyard that I think might be from snakes or moles... There is 2.5-3in hole that comes out of the ground a couple feet from the edge of the pond. Does anyone know what animal likes mushrooms? There is an enormous (nibbled-on?) mushroom growing off the side of a tree stump a few inches from the hole...It might just be a coincidence, and the nibbling might just be breakage---that shroom is a 12in semicircle. It conjures up an image in my mind of a little frog sitting under it in the rain.

I'll keep an eye out for adults and monitor the growth of the tads to see if I can figure out what they are.

Robyn:"...I've not heard of them doing it this late in the yaer. Some frogs may lay eggs this last into the year, especially if it's still warm there."

It is finally beginning to cool off here...Its only 85F today :) But up until about 10 days ago I don't think that the low temp went below 70 F since spring; the low for tonight is fore casted at about 50 F.

-Drumbokas
I am creating a website that has images of my critters. See it here:
http://locrianmetal.com/?page_id=30
It is hidden in my band website, so the background and links and stuff might seem kinda odd

I don't know anything about the crawfish frog but it sounds neat!

Many animals (mostly mammals) will eat mushrooms (not frogs though) so I don't know that we can narrow it down.