Posted on Dec 27, 2022
The astonishing vanishing act of the glassfrog, revealed
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https://www.npr.org/2022/12/26/ [login to see] /glassfrog-hides-its-blood-glass-frogs
Jesse Delia says it happened in Panama. A few years back, he was finishing up his field work — a research project examining the parental behavior of a type of glassfrog. He brought a handful of these transparent, half dollar-sized frogs to the lab for a photo shoot.
It led to an exciting discovery.
"I wanted to get some photos of a pretty glassfrog belly," Delia tells NPR. He placed them in a Petri dish and saw each frog's circulatory system through its translucent skin — "red with red blood cells."
Jesse Delia says it happened in Panama. A few years back, he was finishing up his field work — a research project examining the parental behavior of a type of glassfrog. He brought a handful of these transparent, half dollar-sized frogs to the lab for a photo shoot.
It led to an exciting discovery.
"I wanted to get some photos of a pretty glassfrog belly," Delia tells NPR. He placed them in a Petri dish and saw each frog's circulatory system through its translucent skin — "red with red blood cells."
The astonishing vanishing act of the glassfrog, revealed
Posted from npr.org
Science
Wildlife
Panama
Posted >1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."During the day, while the glassfrogs are asleep on green leaves, they're vulnerable to predators, so they achieve camouflage by becoming super transparent. (Their livers, among other organs, are coated in highly reflective white crystals.) Since their red blood cells are transporting very little oxygen, Delia says the frogs likely have "some alternative process that allows them to keep their cells alive during transparency." Then, at night, when the frogs become active, "feeding and mating, going about their regular business," the vitreous amphibians release their red blood cells back into circulation.
Taboada says the frogs "pack roughly 90% of their red blood cells in a really, really small volume. Normally, those conditions can trigger some clotting disorders." The researchers say that knowing how the glassfrogs avoid a blood clotting cascade could pave the way for new anticoagulants for humans."
..."During the day, while the glassfrogs are asleep on green leaves, they're vulnerable to predators, so they achieve camouflage by becoming super transparent. (Their livers, among other organs, are coated in highly reflective white crystals.) Since their red blood cells are transporting very little oxygen, Delia says the frogs likely have "some alternative process that allows them to keep their cells alive during transparency." Then, at night, when the frogs become active, "feeding and mating, going about their regular business," the vitreous amphibians release their red blood cells back into circulation.
Taboada says the frogs "pack roughly 90% of their red blood cells in a really, really small volume. Normally, those conditions can trigger some clotting disorders." The researchers say that knowing how the glassfrogs avoid a blood clotting cascade could pave the way for new anticoagulants for humans."
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