NANFA-- News - Mysterious Frog Eggs Found in Connecticut

Sajjad Lateef (sajjadlateef_at_yahoo.com)
Thu, 2 Oct 2003 11:49:03 -0700 (PDT)

Are Hurricanes vectors for exotic introductions? -- Sajjad

BERLIN, Conn. - Hurricane Isabel brought unholy high winds and lashing
rain to the East Coast. It also dumped something almost biblical on
Connecticut.

Primo D'Agata was startled by what he thought was hail smacking on his
porch Sept. 19 as the remnants of Isabel moved through the state. But
when he went outside to investigate, D'Agata discovered tiny,
gelatinous eggs with dark spots in the middle.

It had apparently been raining frogs.

Since no frogs in Connecticut lay eggs this late in the year,
scientists and naturalists speculate they may have come up from North
Carolina or another warm location on the winds of Isabel.

D'Agata brought a bowl of his mysterious find to a nearby nature
center, after the town's animal control officer couldn't identify what
had arrived in his yard.

Nicolas Diaz, a naturalist and teacher at New Britain Youth Museum at
Hungerford Park, took a look at D'Agata's bowl and told him it looked
like amphibian eggs.

D'Agata is keeping two small, water-filled glass jars of the eggs to
see if any of them will hatch. He said a few seem to have sprouted what
look like a tail.

"I'm going to let them sit and see what happens," D'Agata said
Wednesday.

=====

-- 
Sajjad Lateef
sajjad_at_acm.org
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