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Cannibalism



Tom is right about cannibalism. There are some toads that lay there
eggs in ephemeral ponds where  the half life of the pond is very short
and the food available there is even shorter. So what they do is have two
different types of tadpoles - a herbivorous form and a carnivorous form.
If everything holds out until their rapid growth is done (I seem to
remember that the carnivores grow faster), then you get lots 'o toads.
If the food runs out - then the carnivores eat the herbivores. If the water
runs out you get lots of death and, hopefully, a lagerstatten.

Cannibalism is just a natural part of carnivory. Crocs do it. Just be
a small C. porosus that gets too close to a big male. Yum.

Yours carnivorously - Ralph