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(GIST OF SCIENCE REPORTER) Transparent Glass Frogs

(June-2023)

Transparent Glass Frogs

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.
Researchers from the American Museum of Natural History and Duke University have discovered the reason behind this amazing “superpower” through which the frogs become two-to-three times more transparent by packaging a large portion of their RBCs in the liver. The study was published in the journal Science.
According to the study on Hyalinobatrachium fleischmanni (one of the species of glass frogs), in resting frogs, 90% of RBCs vanish from the circulatory system and pack themselves in the uniquely reflective livers containing guanine crystal. By using photoacoustic imaging, the scientists were able to observe the RBCs’ location without hindering their normal behaviour or causing them any stress since the imaging technique does not require the frogs to be restrained or manipulated in any way.
This was important since glass frogs can become stressed or die when exposed to anaesthesia or surgical manipulations. However, when these frogs are active they release RBCs back into circulation and their liver shrinks back to normal form. This ability to regulate blood cells coursing through their veins and packing them into their liver is the reason for their highly increased transparency.
This camouflage keeps them safe from enemies. The discovery that glass frogs can regulate the movement and distribution of RBCs without clotting could potentially provide insights into blood clotting research.