News Animals

Some tadpoles don’t poop for weeks. That keeps their pools clean

Before metamorphosis, Eiffinger’s tree frogs store their solid waste in an intestinal pouch

A brown Eiffinger’s tree frog sits on green plant.

Eiffinger’s tree frogs are tiny creatures (about three to four centimeters long as adults) found on Ishigaki Island and Iriomote Island of Japan, and Taiwan.

Bun Ito

By Andrea Tamayo

Some tadpoles don’t poop for the first weeks of their lives. At least, that’s the case for Eiffinger’s tree frogs (Kurixalus eiffingeri), scientists report September 22 in Ecology.