#amphibians

[stickyfrogs]

Learning to Frog with the LongFroglets and RoundFroglets!

[michaelnordeman]

Common toad/vanlig padda. Värmland, Sweden (April 22, 2020).

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Uncharismatic Fact of the Day

African dwarf frogs don't have good table manners, but you can't really blame them. This species has neither a tongue nor teeth, and must use their front feet to shove food down their throats.

(Image: An African dwarf frog (Hymenochirus boettgeri) by James Gathany)

If you send me proof that you’ve made a donation to UNRWA or another fund benefiting Palestinians– including esim donations and verified gofundmes– I’ll make art of any animal of your choosing.

[wachinyeya]

Fungus Devastating Frogs on Nearly Every Continent May Have an Achilles Heel–and Scientists Think it Could Save the Amphibians https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/fungus-devastating-frogs-on-nearly-every-continent-may-have-an-achilles-heel-and-scientists-think-it-could-save-the-amphibians/

“A pandemic among frogs has been going on worldwide for years—the culprit: a fungal infection that has affected amphibians on nearly every continent.

But now, the discovery of a virus that has evolved to replicate inside this fungus could be the key to saving nearly 500 species of frogs that have experienced declines due to this amphibian pandemic.

Viruses are the smallest organisms we know about, and researchers at Univ. of California, Riverside weren’t out looking for one when they found it embedded in the fungus DNA.

The fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis or Bd, wasn’t prevalent until the late 1990s, when suddenly frogs just started dropping dead all over the world.

“We wanted to see how different strains of fungus differ in places like Africa, Brazil, and the U.S., just like people study different strains of COVID-19,” said UCR microbiology professor Jason Stajich.

To do this, Stajich and colleagues used DNA sequencing technology. As they examined the data, they noticed some sequences that did not match the DNA of the fungus.

“We realized these extra sequences, when put together, had the hallmarks of a viral genome,” Stajich said.

The team found that the virus—a single-strand DNA virus which literally is the smallest known organism—is integrated into the nuclear genome in some strains of Bd.

Attempts to cure virus-positive isolates were unsuccessful; however, differences between naturally virus-positive and virus-negative Bd isolates suggested that this virus decreases the growth of its host in vitro, the authors write.

They speculate that if the virus could be replicated and then engineered to further reduce this growth, biologists may have a method of saving amphibians like the harlequin frogs of Ecuador which have been heavily affected by Bd.

The scientists say that a lot more research is needed before such a cure might be manufactured, including for questions like how this virus infects its host.””

[ahedderick]

The pond dinosaurs are nesting. We never, and I mean never, had geese nest here until last year. The eggs are so large!

Also, the thousands of mating frogs and toads have given way to uncountable numbers of tadpoles.

Just - so MANY little guys!

[goddamnshinyrock]

I had a new "oh, my family were the weird ones" moment recently: it seems no one else's family celebrated Frog Night (the first warm rainy night of spring) by going down to the local vernal pool after dark to help the amphibians safely across the road and listening to the spring peepers. (We'd then go back in daytime later on to observe the egg masses, of course.)

Apparently "Frog Night" as a holiday is a thing my mother invented and not a widely-accepted idea, which is a shame because I've been referring to it as if it was for the past 30 years.

[coolestcrocodilian]

What a DORK❗️

[william-snekspeare]

AMPHIBIAN MILK!!

[shamanicganja]

[toadschooled]

I mean no disrespect to prior toads OK? But this lady has to be the cutest toad I've seen all summer. Looked and felt like a little ball of dough. VERY CUTE FACE! Tiny, unimpressive hops & no reaction to being lifted for pictures. Moved her off the trail and she just sat there. Amazing specimen & perfect in every way. I'll remember her forever

[nemfrog]

"Various urodele amphbians, not all to the same scale." The life of vertebrates. 1962.

Internet Archive

[stickyfrogs]

Tonight the first grown-up LongFroglets and RoundFroglets have gone to live at their new home! Round Frog wished them all well with Manners and hopes they have a Lifetime of Treaties!

[markscherz]

I'm pretty sure

refrog if you agree

[indoraptorgirlwind]

[soranatus]

"Gentle Giant of Wizard Island" 12x12", Ink and watercolor, 2023. By Emily Poole.

[weezord-leezords]

Via