A Real-Life Kermit With a See-Through Belly? Nature Said Yes
Gather A Spoonful of Whimsy featuring one of nature’s most charming little oddities: Hyalinobatrachium dianae, a species of glass frog described by scientists in Costa Rica in 2015.
Its bright lime-green back and large, round eyes immediately sparked comparisons to Kermit the Frog. But the truly marvelous part is underneath: like other glass frogs, it has a translucent belly that allows portions of its internal anatomy to be seen through the skin.
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Meet Hyalinobatrachium dianae
A tiny Costa Rican glass frog with a translucent underside, an insect-like whistle and one very familiar-looking face.
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The Kermit Comparison Is Cute, But the Science Gets Better
The species was formally described by researchers Brian Kubicki, Stanley Salazar and Robert Puschendorf in the journal Zootaxa on February 19, 2015. The frogs were documented in the tropical wet forests and premontane rainforests of Costa Rica’s Caribbean foothills, at elevations of roughly 400 to 800 meters.
H. dianae stands apart from closely related glass frogs through a combination of physical traits, genetics and its call. That call is especially distinctive: a single, long metallic whistle that researchers noted could sound more like an insect than a frog.
And Yes, You Can See Through Its Belly
The glass-frog name is not poetic exaggeration. These amphibians are known for translucent skin on the underside of the body, and in Hyalinobatrachium dianae, portions of the internal organs can be visible through that delicate surface. The effect is equal parts strange, beautiful and very much worthy of a Spoonful of Whimsy.
The species is also tiny — around an inch long — and was the first new glass frog reported from Costa Rica since 1973. Its discovery was another reminder that even in heavily studied tropical regions, biodiversity can still be hiding in plain sight.
Meet Costa Rica’s Kermit-Like Glass Frog | A Spoonful of Whimsy
Dig out Hyalinobatrachium dianae below and see why this tiny translucent frog became such an unforgettable discovery.
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Sources: Zootaxa; National Geographic.
