Freezing North American Wood Frogs

These frogs freeze completely when winter comes, entering a hibernation period. They actually stop their heartbeat, and thaw when spring comes.. LINK: Youtube

Newly-discovered pea-sized froggie lives inside carnivorous pitcher plants

Researchers have found and identified a new species of frog, the size of a pea: Microhyla nepenthicola. For the past century, this critter was previously thought to be the infant form of another frog species. It resides inside carnivorous pitcher plants in Borneo. And, occasionally, on the tips of the endangered Blackwing Pencil.

Here is the National Geographic News story, and photo gallery.

[Submitterated by chriscombs], Via: Boingboing

Frog Jumps Caught in Slow-Motion

Researchers used highspeed cameras and slowed the video to study the jumping abilities of frogs. The team found that the frogs can use their very stretchy muscles to create energy to jump up to more than ten times their length. LINK, Via: Youtube

The Smithsonian's Annual Photography Contest

For seven years, The Smithsonian magazine has held an annual photography contest. The five categories are Altered Images, the Natural World, Americana, Travel, and People. Pictured above is Laurie McAndish King’s winning submission in the Natural World category. It’s a photograph of a tiny frog hiding in the leaves of a plant.

King was experimenting with a new camera in a local Mendocino County garden when a frog paused for a moment on the leaves of a nearby plant. She snapped; it hopped. “I’ve gone halfway around the world looking for new experiences,” she says. “This photo will always remind me of the beauty in my own backyard.”

You can view the other winners at the link.

Link | Previously: The Smithsonian By the Numbers, Via: Neatorama

Frogman Is Like Frogger + The Tick

Frogman, a souped-up superhero take on Frogger, looks badass. Classic Frogger gameplay, with a dash of Tick-like attitude (I mean, look at that costume), and awesome-for-the-iPhone graphics. A couple years ago, this woulda been $20 on the DS. [YouTube], LINK: Gizmodo

Glass Frog

No, it’s not really made of glass, but you can see the heart beating inside this frog, one of 30 new species of creatures found in the highlands of Ecuador. See more of the discoveries in a photo gallery at National Geographic. Link -Via: Metafilter, Via: Neatorama

(image credit: Paul S. Hamilton, RAEI)

"Coqui monsters" in Hawaii

Exotic frogs have invaded Hawaii; their nocturnal whistles are reportedly louder than a chainsaw or an alarm clock. Driven to near-madness by sleep deprivation, previously non-violent people are experiencing personality changes and stomping the frogs to death... LINK



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World’s “Un-thirstiest” Animal

Thirsty? Consider this: when it rains in the arid floodplains of Australia, the water holding frog absorbs water through its skin and then burrows into the soil. It then sheds a layer of its skin which harden into a cocoon to keep it from drying out. The frog then enters a deep resting stage and stays there until the next rainy season, which can be a full year away or longer.

The Aborigines sometime dig up the water holding frog from its burrow and squeeze it for a sip of water. LINK, Via: Youtube

The frog with no lungs

“The first lungless frog has been discovered lurking in the jungles of Borneo.

The enigmatic amphibian, dubbed Barbourula kalimantanensis, apparently gets all the oxygen it needs through its skin.

Scientists first saw one of these frogs 30 years ago, but due to their rarity, just one other specimen had been collected since then and neither had been dissected.

“No one thought to open them up — there was no real reason to believe that they could be lungless,” said researcher David Bickford, an evolutionary biologist at the National University of Singapore. LINK

Meet Thailand's easy-riding biker frog

Mrs Bamroongtoi came across Nong Oui outside her house in the Thai province of Roi-Et.

"The frog had a small chick in its mouth. I looked her straight in the eye and knew I could communicate with her. I told her to drop the chick and she did and then came hopping in," she claimed.

"Ever since, she has been a member of the family. For a long time, villagers would come round and get tips on the National Lottery with the frog's help. They used to read her skin.
This is "Nong Oui", Thailand's amphibian answer to the Hell's Angels.

There is nothing the black-spotted frog likes better than taking her Harley out for a spin - even if she is a bit of a poseur.

But, tragically for bikers and frog-lovers everywhere, Nong Oui's owner Tongsai Bamroongtai, 52, says she has now been grounded - because she can no longer predict winning National Lottery numbers.
There is also a video you can see when you follow the link.