Frog that breaks own bones to make claws


	Frog that breaks own bones to make claws

hitchhiker08

5-30-2008 1:08 PM

286 views

tags:

amphibian, frog, trichobatrachus robustus, toads, claw

hitchhiker08 says:

That's adapting to one's environment!

3 Comments |

Add a Comment

5-30-2008 2:06 PM

bignosemousie

5-30-2008 9:14 PM

tanyamm

I would call that a freak of nature.

5-30-2008 9:16 PM

skwirlinator

I wonder what the human foot will look like in a million years - One big toe? Shoes crunch our toes together everyday. No wonder my feet hurt.

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<div style="margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;"><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;"><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://www.clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/25459b36-db2b-437a-a00a-3ed79b727542/87EF2E5F-AEED-47E9-BA70-68E59E528696/" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13991-horror-frog-breaks-own-bones-to-produce-claws.html" href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13991-horror-frog-breaks-own-bones-to-produce-claws.html" style="font-size: 11px;">www.newscientist.com</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13991-horror-frog-breaks-own-bones-to-produce-claws.html"><H2 class="inline">'Horror frog' breaks own bones to produce claws</H2></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13991-horror-frog-breaks-own-bones-to-produce-claws.html"><DIV class="rhbox">
<A target="nsimage" href="http://www.newscientist.com/data/images/ns/cms/dn13991/dn13991-1_800.jpg"><IMG width="250" class="centered block" title="Male Hairy Frogs grow threads of vascularised skin during mating season (Image: Gustavocarra / Creative Commons License) - More images below" alt="Male Hairy Frogs grow threads of vascularised skin during mating season (Image: Gustavocarra / Creative Commons License) - More images below" src="http://www.newscientist.com/data/images/ns/cms/dn13991/dn13991-1_250.jpg" /></A>
                 <DIV class="enlarge straptext"><SPAN><A class="noline highlight" target="nsimage" href="http://www.newscientist.com/data/images/ns/cms/dn13991/dn13991-1_800.jpg">Enlarge image</A></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class="straptext">Male Hairy Frogs grow threads of vascularised skin during mating season (Image: Gustavocarra / Creative Commons License) - More images below</DIV>
        </DIV></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13991-horror-frog-breaks-own-bones-to-produce-claws.html"><P>"Amphibian horror" isn't a movie genre, but on this evidence perhaps it should be. Harvard biologists have described a bizarre, hairy frog with cat-like extendable claws.</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13991-horror-frog-breaks-own-bones-to-produce-claws.html"><P><I>Trichobatrachus robustus</I> actively breaks its own bones to produce claws that puncture their way out of the frog's toe pads, probably when it is threatened.</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13991-horror-frog-breaks-own-bones-to-produce-claws.html"><P>"Some other frogs have bony spines that project from their wrist, but in those species it appears that the bones grow through the skin rather than pierce it when needed for defence," says Blackburn.</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13991-horror-frog-breaks-own-bones-to-produce-claws.html"><H5>Hirsute horror</H5></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13991-horror-frog-breaks-own-bones-to-produce-claws.html"><DIV class="rhbox">
<A href="http://www.newscientist.com/data/images/ns/cms/dn13991/dn13991-2_900.jpg"><IMG width="250" class="centered block" title="The sharp bony claws look like small barbs (Image: Blackburn)" alt="The sharp bony claws look like small barbs (Image: Blackburn)" src="http://www.newscientist.com/data/images/ns/cms/dn13991/dn13991-2_250.jpg" />
                 </A><DIV class="enlarge straptext"><SPAN><A class="noline highlight" href="http://www.newscientist.com/data/images/ns/cms/dn13991/dn13991-2_900.jpg">Enlarge image</A></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class="straptext">The sharp bony claws look like small barbs (Image: Blackburn)</DIV>
        </DIV></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13991-horror-frog-breaks-own-bones-to-produce-claws.html"><DIV class="rhbox">
<A href="http://www.newscientist.com/data/images/ns/cms/dn13991/dn13991-3_670.jpg"><IMG width="250" class="centered block" title="The claw breaks away from a small piece of bone (see arrow) at the tip of the frog’s toe (Image: Blackburn)" alt="The claw breaks away from a small piece of bone (see arrow) at the tip of the frog’s toe (Image: Blackburn)" src="http://www.newscientist.com/data/images/ns/cms/dn13991/dn13991-3_250.jpg" />
                 </A><DIV class="enlarge straptext"><SPAN><A class="noline highlight" href="http://www.newscientist.com/data/images/ns/cms/dn13991/dn13991-3_670.jpg">Enlarge image</A></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class="straptext">The claw breaks away from a small piece of bone (see arrow) at the tip of the frog’s toe (Image: Blackburn)</DIV>
        </DIV></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13991-horror-frog-breaks-own-bones-to-produce-claws.html">end result may look like a cat's claw,</blockquote></div><div style="margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;"><table style="font-size: 11px;border-spacing: 0px;padding: 0px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</td><td align="right" style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;width:107px" width="107"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/share/87EF2E5F-AEED-47E9-BA70-68E59E528696/blog/" title="blog or email this clip"><img src="http://content6.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png" border="0" alt="blog it" width="107" height="17" style="border-width:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;" /></a></td></tr></table></div></div>

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