Friday 27 March 2015

Shape-shifting Frog Goes From Spiny To Smooth In Minutes

image credit Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society)

Pristimantis mutabilis, also known as mutable rainfrog, is a species of frog found in the Ecuadoran Andes. Pristimantis mutabilis is the first known amphibian species that is able to change skin texture from tuberculate to almost smooth in a few minutes.

This capability is attributed to the frog's phenotypic plasticity. It takes just five minutes for its skin to change texture and probably helps Pristimantis mutabilis to hide from birds and predators.

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