THE VINE MAY 30, 2008
-
Read Later
READ LATERAvailable only to subscribers. SUBSCRIBE TODAY
-
Listen
ARTICLE AUDIO
- Font Size
More weird animals today. This time, it's Cameroonian treefrogs who are able to shoot Wolverine-style sharpened bone claws through their fingertips, either to defend against a predator or provide traction on slippery surfaces: "Why some members of this family developed such a dramatic form of defense is still a mystery, though the researchers speculate that because amphibians have a remarkable flair for regeneration, the African frogs may heal up afterward, just like Wolverine."
--Britt Peterson
1 comments
Or maybe not, Britt. Did you read down to the bottom of the brief piece? A herpetolgist, David Cannatella, suggets that this bizarre feature might exist to enable the amphibian to adhere better to whichever rocky enviroment it might find itself in.
- liberal reformer
May 30, 2008 at 5:20pm