International

Scientists have discovered a frog in Ecuador that can rapidly change its skin patterns to mimic the texture it sits on.

Spotted in the western Andean cloud forest, the creature is believed to be the first known amphibian to have this shape-shifting capability.

Researchers claim the ability to change skin texture to reflect its surroundings may enable the frog to camouflage itself from birds and other predators – but say this has yet to be proven.

The new species, called Pristimantis mutabilis was discovered by a Case Western Reserve University PhD student and her husband at Reserva Las Gralarias.

Katherine Krynak spotted the spiny frog, which nearly the width of a marble, sitting on a moss-covered leaf.

The Krynaks captured the frog, and nicknamed it 'punk rocker' because of the thorn-like spines covering its body.

The next day, Ms Krynak pulled the frog from the cup and set it on a smooth white sheet of plastic. It wasn't 'punk ' - it was smooth-skinned.

They assumed that, much to her dismay, she must have picked up the wrong frog.

'I then put the frog back in the cup and added some moss,' she said. 'The spines came back... we simply couldn't believe our eyes, our frog changed skin texture.

'I put the frog back on the smooth white background. Its skin became smooth.'

'The spines and colouration help them blend into mossy habitats, making it hard for us to see them,' she said. 'But whether the texture really helps them elude predators still needs to be tested.'