Sunday, April 27, 2008
Lungless Frog
Scientists have discovered this rare species of frogs called Barbourula kalimantanensis in Borneo, are completely lungless.
Living in clear, cold-water streams, the frog gets all its oxygen through its skin.
The amphibians are slightly more than two inches long, slippery and can swim surprisingly fast for short bursts.
A team of scientists made this discovery during a visit to a site many kilometres upstream from where the species was described from some 30 years ago. Dr Bickford, an evolutionary biologist, explained that they had not dissected the specimen back then, as there was no real reason to believe that they could be lungless. The evolution of lunglessness in four-limbed amphibians is exceedingly rare. The frog is also severely flat compared to other frogs and this would increase the surface area of the skin, allowing it to take in oxygen more efficiently.