Normally today I would post yet another bizarre animal but I came across a really new interesting case study from the animalia kingdom...where researchers record for the first time a mushroom sprouting from the skin of a frog lmao 馃槀
They say a picture is worth a thousand words so there you go
The paper is actually pretty small so there's really not much to say about this case, mostly because the scientists didn't capture the frog for further examination. As a result, this case study creates more questions then it answers.
The frog belonged to the species Hylarana intermedia, commonly known as Rao's Intermediate Golden-backed Frog. The mushroom belongs to the genus Mycena, commonly known as a Bonnet Mushroom.
The frog was spotted in a small roadside pond among a bunch of about 40 individuals of the same species and closer inspection revealed a small mushroom growing on its skin.
Mycologists later identified the mushroom as a species of the Mycena genus, which normally grows on decaying organic matter like dead leaves and not...living animals 馃槀
How and why this happened is a mystery and also consists the first case of any mushroom growing on a live frog.
The frog appeared to be doing fine and well at that moment. As aforementioned though, the specimen wasn't captured so we really don't know if it was negatively affected in any way. Or maybe it's a common occurrence between these two species..maybe even a form of mutually beneficiary symbiosis? Nobody really knows.
Anyways, a really interesting case study. Here's a link to the original paper. As I said, it's really short and doesn't really add much that I haven't mentioned already.
Ok friends, this is it for today. See you soon with more oddities from mother nature 馃槀
More Strange Animal Stuff
If you enjoyed this post here are some more amazing creatures I have recently blogged about:
