Aug 28, 2015
Male tungara frogs sport an impressive “vocal sacs” which help amplify their mating calls.
In a recent experiment, when female tungara frogs had a choice between two males, they chose the one with the best call. BUT, when a third frog with a clearly inferior call was introduced to the mix, the females chose the frog with the second best call. This strange phenomenon is known as the “decoy effect” (its been seen in everything from humans to slime mold) and no one really knows how or why it works.
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Image credit: Amanda M. Lea/Science