Amphibians, features and articles | Educational Science

Feb 21, 2017

Frogs Fit on a Fingertip: Tiny New Species Discovered in India

Some of the smallest known frogs were recently discovered following a five-year survey in India. Seven new species of night frogs, in the Nyctibatrachus genus, include four species that are among the tiniest frogs ever found, capable of comfortably crouching on a thumbnail with room to spare. Though the frogs...

Mar 1, 2017

In New Territory, Good Froggy Dads Go Cannibal

Now that's an unreliable babysitter: Male poison frogs (Allobates femoralis) take care of egg clutches, even those that aren't theirs, in their own territories. But if these frogs move into a new territory, watch out: They eat every egg in sight. A team of researchers, led by Eva Maria Ringler...

Mar 13, 2017

So Cute! 2 New 'Clown' Frog Species Discovered in the Amazon

Scientists recently described two new species of clown tree frogs — brightly patterned amphibians from the Amazon region — and this classification re-evaluated how the frogs were previously identified. The clown frog group, named for its vibrant colors, was formerly thought to contain only two species: Dendropsophus leucophyllatus and Dendropsophus...

Mar 24, 2017

New Striped Rain-Frog Species Discovered in Ecuador’s Cloud Forests

A yellow-green frog with eye-catching stripes that was discovered recently in Ecuador's cloud forests has now been deemed a new species of rain frog, according to a new study. Across the U.S. and Canada, there are about 110 described frog species. By comparison, Ecuador — which is about the size...

May 17, 2017

'Scrotum Frog' Tadpoles Hatch For 1st Time in North America

When they grow up, they'll be big, gray-green and saggy-skinned, but for now, the newest critically endangered babies at the Denver Zoo are slender and sleek. The hatchlings are the first tadpoles of Lake Titicaca frogs (Telmatobius culeus) ever born in North America. They're the offspring of two frogs from...

May 31, 2017

You Can See the Living Heart of This 'Glass Frog'

You don't have to be a biologist to see how so-called glass frogs, a group of largely arboreal tree frogs found in parts of Central and South America, earned that unusually descriptive name — their transparent underbellies are windows into their tiny bodies, revealing many of the organs tucked under...

Jul 3, 2017

Dinosaur Extinction Allowed Frogs to Conquer the Planet

The mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs paved the way for a totally different type of creature to take over — frogs. The slimy amphibians exploded in numbers and diversified in the millions of years after a massive asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs, taking advantage of the huge holes...

Sep 21, 2017

Extinct Big-Mouthed Frogs May Have Dined on Dinos

A group of modern frogs whose comically rotund bodies and giant mouths earned them the nickname Pac-Man frogs is attracting attention — not for the size of their maws, but for the power of their bite. And their extinct relative, known as a devil frog, may have packed even more...

Oct 20, 2017

Snake Head Pops Out of Frog's Maw in Mesmerizing Photo

See more In a stunning frog photo shared widely from Reddit, a swallowed snake isn't going down without a fight. The swallowed snake likely didn't stay alive for long — though a frog's prey is usually gulped down alive and kicking, once the frog's mouth snaps shut, the end comes...

Jul 6, 2018

Watch This Frog Light Up After It Swallows a Firefly

This Florida frog is so lit. (Image credit: Viral Hog)Cellphone video recently captured an incredible sight: After a tiny frog gulped down a firefly, the unlucky insect kept flashing from inside the amphibian's gullet, perhaps broadcasting a final, desperate SOS. The frog, which was clinging to a window in Tallahassee,...

Oct 4, 2018

These Frogs Are Evolving to Survive a Murderous Fungus That Tries to Stop Their Hearts

Two decades ago, scientists discovered a sort of archaic fungus infecting frogs in Central America. Called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, or chytrid, the fungus appeared to be a rare and devastating threat: It altered the skin chemistry of infected hosts, robbing them of their ability to drink water and absorb electrolytes through...

Jan 15, 2019

Romeo the Water Frog Has Finally Found His Juliet — and Their Love Just Might Save His Species

For 10 long years, a bachelor lived out his days alone, calling out for a mate but hearing only the clicks of cameras and clacks of human shoes at the Museo de Historia Natural Alcide d’Orbigny in Bolivia. The lonely bachelor, named Romeo, is a sehuencas water frog (Telmatobius yuracare)...

Feb 27, 2019

Oldest Frog Relative from North America Could Fit on Your Pinky Finger

It's possible that during the Triassic period, the crocodile-like phytosaur snapped at a frog-like creature, but missed. It's a good thing it did, because 216 million years later, paleontologists have found the fossils of these tiny creatures, the oldest known frog relative from North America, a new study finds. This...

Mar 13, 2019

Newly Discovered 'Starry Dwarf Frog' Wears a Galaxy on Its Back, Hides in Dead Leaves

On a lonely plateau in India's Western Ghat mountains, an ancient family of frogs has quietly hidden among the fallen leaves for millions of years, evading human detection. Measuring about the width of a human adult's thumbnail, these tiny frogs sleep by day, hunt by night and wear a galaxy...

Mar 29, 2019

Wee Orange 'Pumpkin' Frogs Have Bones That Glow Through Their Skin

In eastern Brazil's Atlantic Forest, poisonous pumpkin toadlets use their vivid colors to warn off predators. But these tiny frogs also broadcast a secret visual signal: They glow bright blue under ultraviolet light. Scientists unexpectedly discovered the glowing patterns in two species of pumpkin toadlets (Brachycephalus ephippium and B. pitanga)...