From prickly to smooth in minutes. A new species of frog is able to transform the texture of its skin. They called it 'mutant rain frog', 'Pristimantis mutabilis'. The tiny, fingernail-sized creature is the world's first mutant amphibian ever discovered, the study published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society explains.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
From prickly to smooth in minutes. A new species of frog is able to transform the texture of his skin. They called her 'mutant rain frog', 'Pristimant mutabilis'. The little creature, about the size of a fingernail, is the first mutant amphibian never discovered in the world, as the study published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
Le mutant frogs have been found in Reserve Las Gralarias, a protected forest on the western slopes of Ecuador's Andes. The incredible discovery is from biologist Katherine Krynak and naturalist Tim Krynak, who have spent their final years searching rare species of frog in these areas.
The duo spotted the first mutant rain frog in 2006 with a camera. Upon closer inspection of the photograph, they realized that it could be a new species, noticing the prickly skin. They started calling her 'punk rocker'. In 2009, they finally spot her a second time and capture her for a detailed photo session.
But the next morning the frog's thorns were gone. Thinking they grabbed the wrong frog, they decided to go back to the forest. And here's the big surprise: they checked the frog again and the thorns were suddenly back! So they took some photographs documenting the transition on a smooth white border, clearly showing the frog transforming from prickly to smooth in about five minutes.
It is still not entirely clear how and why it does this. What is certain is that it is thethe only amphibian known in the world capable of transforming itself in this way.
Roberta Ragni
Photo Credit: Zoological Journal of Linnean Society
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