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Footnote: Hiya! Liked this thing? Well, this is my new blog! Due to legit technical issues with the old one, I will be rblging the original MMM and CFF posts on this account, as well as continuing both lil series!
Creacher Feature Friday 7: So, Wolverine Frogs Are a Thing…
And somehow, the fuzz ain't even close to the weirdest thing about them.
Today we look to the tropics of Central Africa to find the ever-unique Trichobatrachus robustus, or commonly known as the hairy frog, the "horror Frog" (rude) and/or the Wolverine frog. I think for our moment here, I'm gonna stick with Wolverine, because you're gonna agree with me soon that that's the empirically perfect name for these fellas, and let me tell you about some amphibious badasses.
First, this species is a genuine one of a kind, being the singular member of the Trichobatrachus genus.
Second, while they're a mainly terrestrial amphibian, they do return to water specifically to breed and spawn, and it's during that time where an interesting sexual dimorphism reveals itself.
On the left up there, spot the otherwise normal looking female. On the right, check out the male's dermal papillae, extending from the back legs to the flank.
You can guess this is how they earned the common name of "hairy" frog, but I'll have you know not a bit of that fuzz is actually hair at all, or even for looks. What's actually going on here is a super cool adaptation to help the male perform a very important task for the future generation: He remains at the spawning site after mating, so that he can guard the female's eggs until they've safely hatched. Unfortunately, the land dwellers have relatively small lungs not as suited for swimming for so long. While all amphibians can still breathe through their skin, the male wolverine frog grows out these blood-rich papillae to help increase the breathable surface area further for his extended stay in the water. Think of them as functionally very similar to the "feathery" gills of an axolotl.
But wait, it gets SO MUCH BETTER
Cause both sexes of this species have something wicked quite literally up their sleeve. THIS is why they're called the wolverine frog:
"Oh neat so it has claws." NOPE. WRONG. True claws are supposed to be made of keratin, that up there, is bones! Whenever the wolverine frog feels threatened, it can voluntarily break its own toes, disconnecting this spur of bone from the tips in order to force the points to traumatically erupt OUT of the skin. When not in use, these unsettling, dead-space sort of weapons just simply... retract, back into the toe-tips, where the wolverine frog's regenerative abilities can start working on repairing the cartilage and tissue damage. Effectively, though, these metal amphibians can do this as many times as they have to. Imagine instead of carrying blades or pepper spray, we responded to potential attacks by just casually snap-crackle-popping our hands open into a set of finger bone-knives. Hell yeah!
It's also possible this isn't even a dire last resort tactic, since it is theorized that these bone spurs also help assist the frogs in holding onto rock surfaces underwater or when climbing. Certainly a useful trait for the males, but this is universal to their population at large, even including the juvenile wolverine frogs.
IMO, definitely one of the frogs of all time, for sure.
Come back next week and I think I'll spill about a different amphibian I think would make a much better candidate for the name "horror frog" ;> until then, stay bewildered and don't eat any strange fungi.
happy painted bat day
My part of the ratbin gift exchange!
Prompt was preyduo being friends :3
Seamless teamwork boys