Tadpole embryos grow strong jaws if they sense shrimp in the water

Some tadpoles can respond to their environment even before birth, hatching with stronger jaws if they sense prey in the water while still embryos.

The Mexican spadefoot toad (Spea multiplicata) is a species of small, round frog usually found in arid desert environments. As tadpoles, the frogs cope with unpredictable climate conditions by adjusting their diets. Some grow up eating a little bit of everything. Others develop into specialised carnivores, even snacking on other tadpoles – this lets them grow faster so they can escape their drying ponds. …