Frogs change color

The skin of a newly discovered frog in the southwestern Pacific has a dotted yellow color when they are young. But when it comes to mature stage, their skin turns to peach color.

A frog Oreophryne ezra has not yet reached adulthood. Photo: Fred Kraus .

National Geographic said that frogs Oreophryne ezra was discovered in 2004 in a mountain top forest in southern Papua New Guinea. Local people never entered this wet forest because they thought it was guarded by spirits.

Scientists have discovered that some frogs change their skin color as they mature. However, the difference in skin color between juveniles and adults in frog Oreophryne ezra is greater than any other frog. According to Fred Kraus, the vertebrate expert of the Bishop Museum in the US, complete discoloration is an interesting mystery. It is possible that black on immature frogs plays a "warning", because that color makes predators think they are poison frogs.

Frog skin turns yellow when they reach adulthood.Photo: Fred Kraus.

"But if the immature frog has a warning color, why do they lose that color when they're grown? It's confusing , " Kraus said.

To decipher the mystery, Kraus intends to check whether the immature Oreophryne ezra frogs are poisonous to defend themselves. However, he will have to proceed urgently, because their living environment is seriously threatened by climate change. The forest at the top of the mountain needs to maintain a low temperature to survive. Global warming can make them miserable. Ground plants can move upward and replace mountain-based plants. Then Oreophryne ezra frog will become extinct.