A team of researchers has discovered a new species of frog that can change the texture of its skin in a matter of minutes. OddityCentral has full detail:
Biologist Katherine Krynak and naturalist Tim Krynak first spotted the “Mutable Rain Frog”, in Reserva Las Gralarias, a protected cloud reserve forest on the western slopes of Ecuador’s Andes Mountains, in 2006. The frog’s spiny-textured skin stood out, so they started calling it ‘punk rocker’. In 2009, the Krynaks finally spotted the elusive punk rocker frog a second time, and grabbed it for a detailed photo session. They put it in a small plastic cup and left it there overnight. The next morning, when Kathrine opened the cup, she found that the frog’s spines were gone.
Thinking that they had grabbed the wrong frog, they decided to return it to the forest that night. “We were so disappointed because it had taken years to find another one,” Kathrine explained. But the Krynaks were in for a surprise the next time they checked on the frog – the spines were back! “It was kind of remarkable,” Katherine recalled. “We were both kind of in shock at this point.” Tim then took a series of photographs documenting the transition on a smooth white board, clearly showing the frog transform from prickly to smooth in about five minutes. The two researchers believe the tiny amphibians use the shape-shifting spines for camouflage in the mossy forests, but they still need to test the theory for confirmation.
by Greenstarnetwork admin..
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