As everyone knows, things can get confusing when you’re piled in a huge orgy with various other members of your species.
So scientists think male frogs change colors mid-sex-spree — from greenish-brown to vibrant yellow — to help their frog-bros focus on the ladies.
Going yellow is their way of saying, “Hey, dude-frog, I’m a dude-frog, too, so don’t waste your time on me,” according to researchers from the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and Macquarie University.
If a midcoital wardrobe change sounds excessive, consider this: Frogs sometimes gather in the thousands to procreate. It can get pretty hectic for the little guys!
So as with any orgy, communication is key.
“It’s useful to communicate ‘I’m a male, and I’ve got my female —stay away from her,’ or ‘I’m another male, don’t grab onto me,’” says Rayna Bell, a Smithsonian research zoologist, in a statement.
Male frogs haven’t always had this helpful biological marker. Researchers think that, back in the day, male frogs would mistakenly attempt to mate with other male frogs because they looked too similar to female frogs.
So Darwinism stepped in to help, and male frogs began to develop their color-changing powers. (Researchers think hormones are responsible for the physical switcheroo, according to Popular Science.)
And, voila: Multicolored frog orgies came into being.
These very important findings were published Wednesday in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology.