Rohit Kataria

Transparency in animals is always fascinating. Transparency can be seen generally in aquatic animals like glass octopus, crocodile icefish, salps, jellyfish, etc. The phenomenon is not common on land because the Red Blood Cells (RBCs), in vertebrates, have difficulty being transparent as they strongly weaken the light passage, and also due to differences in the reflection of light in water and air. However, the “Glass Frog” attains high transparency by hiding its RBCs amazingly in its liver.

Glass frogs (family Centrolenidae), known for their translucent body, are native to Tropical forests of Central & South America. They are classified into 160 species. Glass frogs are nocturnal, small in size — around half an inch — and tend to live high in the trees over water. Though they are small in size they can cover about 10 ft distance in a single jump.

What makes them amazing is the visibility of their inner organs without any X-ray or ultrasound. To see this wonderful view you have to just flip the frog, and you can see the beating heart, bones and food moving through the gut —  and hence the name Glass Frog!

Researchers from the American Museum of Natural History and Duke University have discovered the reason behind…read more on NOPR