The Rhacophorus Nigropalmatus, known as the Wallace’s Flying Frog, resides in South-East Asian rainforests.
Emerald coloured once fully developed but in their juvenile stage, the tiny froglet of this species are reddish brown with notable white spots, taking on a peculiar resemblance to bird feces at first glance. Upon adulthood, the frogs develop their recognizable emerald sheen as a means of merging within the green foliage around them.
Scientists then hypothesized that these unappetizing froglets may have intentionally adapted this complexion to protect themselves from predators in their early stages of development.
Published in Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology (September, 2023), researchers put this disgusting disguise to the test with frog models that mimicked both the green adult frog and the excrement-esque froglet, proving that avian predators were deterred by the masquerading amphibian and preferred the overtly emerald, green model as a desirable meal.
The findings are considered the first of its kind to investigate a vertebrate species developing this method of disguise.
