Glass Frogs

Glass Frogs are amazing animals! You can generally find Glass Frogs around the equator, as that is the type of habitat they like. There are many different species of glass frogs but what makes them special is that they have skin that is very nearly transparent allowing people, especially scientists, to be able to see their organs. How transparent are they? Well, in order to hide from predators, they have the capacity to turn themselves 61% transparent and blend into their surrounding environment. They often become transparent at night so they can sleep peacefully as this reduces the likeliness of predator attacks. Their main predator in the rainforest is rainforest wasps.

When Glass Frogs turn “invisible” you are able to observe many of their organs, including their heart, liver, and gastrointestinal tract. As adults, the typical Glass Frog is about the size of a regular-sized marshmallow. Another interesting fact about these animals is that while most frogs and other amphibians lay their eggs and leave them, the Glass Frog will stay with its eggs until they hatch into tadpoles. It is actually the male Glass Frog that will stay with the eggs after he fertilizes them. Additionally, certain species of Glass Frogs (Sun Glass Frog and Northern Glass Frog) will even sit on the eggs the same way ducks or chickens would. The male will sit on the eggs to keep them hydrated. The female frogs lay around 20 - 100 eggs, depending on the species, and leave, relying on the male to stay with the eggs.

Scientists have long known about the existence of glass frogs, but not until recently did they know how they achieved this unique trait. Glass Frogs become “invisible” because they are able to pool blood in their bodies without being affected by blood clots. The frog is able to have 89% of their blood cells packed very closely together in the liver. This almost doubles the size of the liver. As the Glass Frog does not suffer any negative effects because of this, and specifically none that have to do with blood clots, scientists now study Glass Frogs. They believe they may really help advance medicine when dealing with diseases that involve blood clots. Not only are these animals amazing, but they might also be amazingly helpful!