Scientists find frog that can undergo 'striking' color change

Scientists have found a new frog species in Papua New Guinea, which undergoes a "striking" change from a black, yellow-spotted youngster to a peach-colored, blue-eyed adult.

According to a report in National Geographic News, the frog, known as Oreophryne ezra, was recently discovered in a tiny, mountaintop cloud forest in southeastern Papua New Guinea.

Though a few other frogs are known to switch colors as they mature, "I don't think the difference in color pattern is as startling as what's seen in this species," said Fred Kraus, a vertebrate zoologist at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii.

But why the amphibian undergoes such a drastic transition is far from black and white, according to Kraus.

The juveniles look like poison dart frogs, so "the first thing that comes to mind is 'warning'," Kraus said.

The young frogs even sit on leaves in broad daylight, consistent with the danger "doesn't bother me" audacity of poisonous frogs, he added.

But "if the juvenile has a warning color, why would adults lose it? It makes no sense at all."

To solve at least part of the riddle, Kraus and colleagues plan to test whether the young frogs have poison to back up their bluster.