Frog Found To Have Mutant Shape-Shifting Ability
A species of frog discovered in the cloud forest of Ecuador has the ability to change its body surface from sleek to spiky, as if it’s an amphibious member of the X-Men. This clever frog is the only vertebrate ever discovered that can accomplish such a change in skin texture. The marble-size frog apparently uses its special power for camouflage, hopping around in regular smooth frog skin until it needs to hide in the moss, at which point it sprouts pointy projections all over itself within minutes.
This one-of-a-kind master of disguise is crafty, too – scientists first discovered the frog species back in 2006, but didn’t catch it in the shape-shifting act until years later. Katherine Krynak, a biologist at Case Western Reserve University, explains how the discovery was finally made. “We took a specimen back to the house in a cup to photograph it, and when we looked in the morning, we thought we had grabbed the wrong frog” Krynak said. “We put the frog back in the cup with some moss, and soon, it had the spines again.”
“We simply couldn’t believe our eyes” Krynak added. Inspired by the thorny spines the frog had sprouted, the research team dubbed it the “punk rocker” frog. It remains to be seen just how many more clever shape-changers await discovery in the world.
