First shape-shifting amphibian

Editorial Team 236 Views amphibian, Ecuador, frog

Pristimantis mutabilis sitting on a green leaf — Pristimantis mutabilis, dubbed the ‘punk rocker frog’ or ‘mutable rain frog’.

A fingernail-size frog that can morph its skin texture from spiny to smooth in just minutes is the first shape-shifting amphibian ever found.

Dubbed the ‘punk rocker frog’, this “mutable rain frog” (Pristimantis mutabilis) was discovered on the western slopes of Ecuador’s Andes Mountains, in a protected cloud forest reserve. A female mutable rain frog is just 0.8 to 0.9 inches long and males are even smaller. These frogs are a species-rich group that skips the tadpole stage and develops into frogs directly within their eggs.