Natures wonders: Frog changes skin texture (Introduction)

by David Turell , Wednesday, March 25, 2015, 13:42 (3529 days ago) @ David Turell

To match its surroundings:-http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150323132854.htm-"Katherine Krynak believes the ability to change skin texture to reflect its surroundings may enable P. mutabilis to help camouflage itself from birds and other predators.-"The Krynaks originally spotted the small, spiny frog, nearly the width of a marble, sitting on a moss-covered leaf about a yard off the ground on a misty July night in 2009. The Krynaks had never seen this animal before, though Tim had surveyed animals on annual trips to Las Gralarias since 2001, and Katherine since 2005.-"They captured the little frog and tucked it into a cup with a lid before resuming their nightly search for wildlife. They nicknamed it "punk rocker" because of the thorn-like spines covering its body.-"The next day, Katherine Krynak pulled the frog from the cup and set it on a smooth white sheet of plastic for Tim to photograph. It wasn't "punk "--it was smooth-skinned. They assumed that, much to her dismay, she must have picked up the wrong frog.-"'I then put the frog back in the cup and added some moss," she said. "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."-"'The spines and coloration help them blend into mossy habitats, making it hard for us to see them," she said. "But whether the texture really helps them elude predators still needs to be tested."-"During the next three years, a team of fellow biologists studied the frogs. They found the animals shift skin texture in a little more than three minutes."