Seinner Frog

The southern Rhegev Desert is rife with all sorts of interesting things to study. The sheer number of scorpion species, alone, could be entomologically ground breaking. In the south, the nighttime brings out the residents, who hide from the heat of the sun all day and emerge only once it has gotten dark. There are jumping mice, for instance, that dance complex patterns in order to attract their mates. They eat seeds and grain that have been baked by the sun, and thrive. Or, they would thrive, if it were not for all the predators.
And predators there are aplenty. It is, after all, the desert. And in the desert, life feeds on life. Either that, or it

by Harlen

ends utterly dessicated. Stealth is paramount for the little dancing mice. It is tantamount to the sparrow hawk's ability to see them whether they are hiding, or not. The long-horned antellope grew those needle-sharp horns out to protect themselves from predators such as the wild dogs and hyenas that abound in the area, but the lions run them down from behind and feast upon them, anyway, and the pigs and striped hyenas happily pick up the scraps. Hyenas and wild hogs, with jaws that can crack and crumble bone, clean the carcasses right up. Wild dogs and wolves attack the fattened hogs in packs of snarling death, and the cycle continues.
Yet even the hyenas, known for their ability to digest virtually anything (even scorpions) avoid particular tidbits as inedible. One such, that they very carefully avoid, is the Seinner Frog.
Seinner frogs secrete a thick, oily mucous that has an interesting psychadelic effect on ingesting mammalia; in short, it's a happy drug. One taste...even getting a little in the nose or eye...and the last thing anyone wishes to do is eat that frog. In fact, the frog seems to sparkle under the desert stars (they only come out at night), their eyes spinning lazily, a soft friendly smile seemingly playing across their lips. This would be the effects of what the chemists at that world famous institute of higher learning, The Bardic College Campus, call methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or C₁₁H₁₅NO_2. Or, Lovejoy, if you're the chem students synthesizing and marketing it.
However, they have never been able to synthesize the frog mucous' most interesting trait. The snot makes you

by Harlen

sing. Loudly; what some would call at the top of the lungs. The frog provides a driving background bass line, with reverberating cro-o-oak!ing and booming ruh ru-u-u-UH! sounds laying down the groove while the erstwhile predator starts to make loud, joyful noises in time with the frog. The real goal, here, as herpetology students put it, is a massive "jam session"; the louder and more raucous, the better. Everyone ingests a little frog snot, gets super happy, and starts singing and dancing...which attracts the female frogs. The friendlier, and more loving the participants are, the more interested the female frog is. And soon, there is an oasis full of wriggly tadpoles somewhere very close by, and maybe a hyena who just wants to get along with everybody, man.

Basic Information

Anatomy

They are short bodied, tailless amphibions with large hind legs.

Genetics and Reproduction

These frogs have evolved their protective effluence into a mass communication device for their mating rituals.

Growth Rate & Stages

They start as tadpoles, eventually throwing the tail and growing legs.

Ecology and Habitats

They all live, without exception, near the edge of water.

Dietary Needs and Habits

They are carniverous, subsisting mostly on insects.

Behaviour

They will wait, very still, while a predator approaches them. They will then give off a loud bass ru ru RUM!, which shivers their entire body, flinging the happy snot all over its potential murderer.

Additional Information

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

It is said Seinner Frogs can sense a good time from a mile away. That may be true, but they never stray far from the edge of the oasis that they call home.

Scientific Name

Chordata Amphibia Freelovelius

Geographic Distribution

• Rhegev Desert

Phineas by Harlen