I was cleaning my garden pond in Staffordshire, UK, at the end of October and came across a live tadpole. I had previously suspected that some tadpoles are late undergoing metamorphosis, but this one really missed the boat. Is this a recognised phenomenon, and what is the explanation?
• One has to assume that this is a tadpole of a frog or a toad, although it could have been the larvae of a newt, which is not dissimilar to a tadpole, except that it has feathery external gills.
That said, there are only two species of toad, the natterjack and the…
