I came across an article in Sci-News the other day describing a newfound anuran species formally described as Pristimantis mutabilis, or mutable rain frog, by the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. This is the only known amphibian species to have "shape-shifting" capabilities, that is, it has phenotypic plasticity that allows it to change the shape and texture of its skin in minutes to better mimic its surroundings. Herpetologists that have observed this creature believe that this unique ability is an adaptation to better avoid predation from birds, snakes, etc. Pristimantis mutabilis is a member of an especially large genus (over 400 species) that is native across Central and South America, from Honduras to Southern Brazil and Northern Argentina, as well as in the southern Caribbean.
About the size of a marble, this creature was discovered sitting on a leaf by Katherine and Tim Krynak in 2009. They noticed that this was no ordinary frog when its skin changed shape upon capture. Genetic and morphological analysis confirmed that Pristimantis mutabilis was indeed a new species and it has since been closely studied to further understand its characteristics, behaviors, and evolutionary origins.
"Pristimantis Mutabilis: Scientists Discover Shape-Shifting Frog in Ecuador." Breaking Science News SciNewscom. Sci-News, 24 Mar. 2015. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.
3 comments:
Great pick of an article, I heard about this topic and I thought this was such an interesting article. Its crazy to image the dramatic change in it's body within just minutes. The dramatic phenotypic plasticity is almost mind blowing. The plasticity may arise in frogs with similar skin texture, so therefore this action of shape shifting maybe more common than we think.
In the original article it also highlights that they classified 3 distinct call types for the species, which differed in amplitude peak and length.
Did they say how these frogs shifted their shape? Is this in any way similar to the way cephalopods shift their color and textures?
Amazing! I too wondered about the mechanism underlying this rapid change... eagerly awaiting further research!
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