#the IG post has alt text but I don't think I can add it to an image that is part of an embedded link

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

Every so often, I remember that I have something like 2,000 animal photos I've been meaning to edit and post from zoo trips over the past few years. This creates a problem, however, when it comes to animal ID. I'm great at mammals, and reasonable at birds. Reptiles and amphibians, though... not so much. Luckily we can outsource help on the internet!

I finished editing the incredibly cool frog photo at the bottom of this post (linked to on IG because I'm shameless) a little while ago and was absolutely stumped as to who they were. I knew I'd taken them at the Omaha Zoo this spring, but that facility has a truly spectacular set of frog breeding programs, so that narrowed it down to basically nothing.

I pretty much immediately sent it to @kaijutegu for help with an ID, because if she doesn't know the species of something, it's pretty guaranteed she'll know someone who will. And yet she was still stumped! There's not a ton of frogs with that unique face shape and mottled coloration, and still, it eluded us. Until one morning, a day or so later, when I woke up to this text:

Gotta love a friend having an honest-to-god Ebenezer Scrooge moment pre-dawn to help you figure out what type of frog you saw half a year ago. I could have just contacted the zoo, probably, but this turned out to be more fun.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by @whyanimalsdothething

Anyway, these really cool looking buddies are fringed leaf frogs, and they actually shift from being bright green and yellow to being burgundy at night! They've got super complex pigment cells in their skin, some of which reflect light, and others of which can contract to hide the reflective ones to increase their camouflage in dark settings. It's kind of unfortunate they're displayed under blue light at the zoo (although obviously nocturnal habitats are important) because it means the color shift isn't really visible.

To my endless disappointment, I can't find a good photo of what that burgundy coloration looks like! If you know of one, please, please add it in a reblog. I must know. I must see the red frogs.