amplexus

noun

1. (uncountable)A form of pseudocopulation, found chiefly in amphibians and horseshoe crabs, in which a male grasps a female with his front legs as part of the mating process.

   “Finally, we came upon a pair of Panamanian robber frogs locked in amplexus—the amphibian version of sex.”

   “In the middle, just below the surface, a male and a female were locked in amplexus, a coupling that can last for days as the male waits to fertilise the eggs when they are laid.”

2. (uncountable)In vernation, the situation where two sides of one leaf overlap the two sides of the one above it.