A group of scientists believe they have discovered the world's first amphibian able to change its shape: a frog that can fit in a person's hand with room to spare.
According to Live Science, the scientists first discovered Pristimantis mutabilis in forest reserve in Ecuador's Andes Mountains. The "mutable rain frog" typically only grows to just less than an inch in length and becomes a frog in the egg, skipping the tadpole stage.
Collaborating on the research was Katherine Krynak, a biologist and graduate student at Case Western Reserve University, and Tim Krynak, a project manager the Cleveland Metroparks. The two first found the frog in 2006 and co-authored a study published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
Tim and Katherine first called the frog a "punk rocker" for its spiky exterior, but when they revisited the frog they thought they were mistaken. The frog felt different, smooth rather than spiky.
"I then put the frog back in the cup and added some moss," Katherine Krynak said in a press release. "The spines came back... we simply couldn't believe our eyes, our frog changed skin texture!
"I put the frog back on the smooth white background. Its skin became smooth."
Collaborating with study lead author Juan M. Guayasamin, from Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica in Ecuador, the researchers determined this change took about three minutes to accomplish.
"The spines and coloration help them blend into mossy habitats, making it hard for us to see them," Krynak said. "But whether the texture really helps them elude predators still needs to be tested."
