Japanese frog with a bone claw in its hand is the most awesome frog ever
Frogs are pretty awesome, and they’re a pretty varied bunch of creatures with all kinds of badass weapons. While poison is cool, but the Otton frog of Japan has a cleverly hidden bone knife/claw thing in its hands, so it can totally fuck your world up if you try and get in on its froggy turf.
“Why these ‘fifth fingers’ exist in some species remains an evolutionary mystery, but the extra digit of the Otton is in fact a pseudo-thumb,” said Dr Iwai.
“The digit encases a sharp spine which can project out of the skin, which fieldwork demonstrates is used for combat and mating.” Dr Iwai has studied the rare frogs since 2004 in order to understand the species’ distribution, breeding habits and range; all factors which will contribute to any conservation strategy. Once she began exploring how the Ottons use their pseudo-thumbs Dr Iwai discovered that while both males and females had the spike, it was only used by males. Males were found to have larger pseudo-thumbs than the females and Dr Iwai believes that the spikes evolved for anchoring to the female, known as amplexus, the Latin for embrace, during mating.
“While the pseudo-thumb may have evolved for mating, it is clear that they’re now used for combat,” said Dr Iwai. “The males demonstrated a jabbing response with the thumb when they were picked up, and the many scars on the male spines provided evidence of fighting.”
The conditions on the Amami islands make combat, and the need for weaponry, a key factor for the frogs’ mating success. Individuals fight over places to build nests, while the chances of a male finding a mate each night are rare, thus the ability to fight off competitors may be crucial.
Notes