FAQs about spawn and tadpoles: white spawn/tadpoles

White spawn may turn into albino tadpoles (Peter Weijers)

WILDLIFE INFORMATION SERVICE

Frequently Asked Questions about... spawn and tadpoles:

I've seen white spawn / tadpoles, what's going on?

There can be a couple of explanations behind white spawn or tadpoles.

If you have seen seen white spawn then it could be because it has not been fertilised. This spawn will naturally break down in the water.

If the white dots in the centre of the spawn start to become 'comma' shapes, like ordinary spawn, then this will hatch into white or 'transparent' tadpoles. These tadpoles are either albino (missing skin colour pigments, they will have pink eyes) or are just missing certain skin pigments.

White tadpoles do not always survive well in the wild as they are so conspicuous to predators. Those that do survive don't necessarily turn into white frogs, often they become darker in colour as they grow.

It may not be an albino frog that has laid these eggs, it could just be that there is a high proportion of the local frog population that carries the gene for albinism. If this is the case then you may see this occurring in future years.

More information:

Identifying amphibians. >>>