Animalia Stupendium: The Glass Frog

Travel with me, gentle reader, as we consider the glorious glass frog come name glass frog.

as precious as the glass frog. Most of these are arboreal denizens of the cloud forests, boast a semi translucent skin, thus their name, and through their glass like skin one may glimpse their very organs and the coursing of red blood through their veins. Indeed, did I not know better, I might assume that some careless apprentice had dripped the very ink of animation upon the pages of an anatomy textbook.

But I assure you these frogs are quite real. And since glass frogs are products of evolution and not accidental wizardry, you might ponder why they are required translucent skin and visible organs, because surely it is a careless adventure who strolls into an enemy's stronghold with invisible flesh but visible viscera. It might shock and confuse your adversaries in the short term, but they'll certainly know where you are, they'll wise up, and you might not like where they aim their arrows.

I am somewhat reminded of the crystal flesh ghuls of Nue in this as well, but that is beside the point. Indeed, scientists long pondered the nature and effectiveness of the glass frog's camouflage. There are two amazing factors we must consider here. First of all, while their central bodies reveal their internal organs, their legs are generally a great deal more translucent, as

are the edges of their bodies. Thus, when the fog bunches itself up on a leaf, the edges of its balk blend into its surroundings, be it dark or light. This is called edge diffusion, the softening of line separation between the creature and its background. Think of it as a blurring of the visible boundary between the individual and the surroundings. Stealth check, and there's more. Quite recently, scientists

discovered something very exciting about the glass frog's blood. Yes, when the frog is active, the visible veins of coursing red certainly mark the frog for potential sighted predators. But when the frog is asleep, most of its red blood cells pool within the creature's liver, swelling the organ by some forty percent and amassing an estimated eighty nine percent of the creature's red blood cells a virtual liver of holding.

As a result, the frog's overall translucency increases by as much as half or even more success It's an extreme adaptation, and scientists ponder how they might learn from it in the treatment and prevention of blood clots. For the frogs carry out this daily feet without suffering clots of their own. Further study may lead to the development of new ante coagulants. Glass frog coloration and translucency varies from species to species,

as do some of their other adaptations. At least one species produces bright red tadpoles that bury themselves in mud and leaf litter before completing their metamorphosis. I could go on and on about these delicate creatures, but for now I must retire my wizards quill and allow my familiars some respite. But I shall return with even more wonders of the natural world.

Other sources include Imperfect Transparency and Camouflage in glass Frogs by Ryan at All, published in the Journal Biological Sciences twenty twenty and glass Frogs Concealed blood in their liver to maintain Transparency by Taboada at All, published in the

Journal Science twenty twenty two. Thanks as always to the excellent JJ Possway for producing this episode, and if you wish to contact Argomandanese with recommendations for future episodes, you can send an email to contact at Stuffdlow your Mind dot com.