Naturalists in Karnataka, India, made a remarkable discovery as a tiny Bonnet Mushroom was found sprouting from a live golden-backed frog's flank, a phenomenon never observed before.
In an astonishing revelation, a team of naturalists hailing from Karnataka, India, stumbled upon a minuscule mushroom sprouting from a golden-backed frog. This unprecedented occurrence, detailed in the journal Reptiles and Amphibians, has left researchers baffled, as they have never witnessed a 'mushroom sprouting from the flank of a live frog' before.
The journal shed more light on the peculiar find, stating, "The frog was alive and moving. Mycologists later identified the mushroom to be a Bonnet Mushroom, which is known to be saprotrophic and occurs mostly on rotting wood."
Lohit Y T, a rivers and wetlands specialist affiliated with World Wildlife Fund-India in Bengaluru, shared his amazement with CNN, saying, "When I first observed the frog with the mushroom, I was amazed and intrigued by the sight. My thought was to document it, as this phenomenon is something we have never heard of. We just wanted this to be a rare incident and not a dangerous phenomenon for the frog."
According to Lohit, the naturalist closely monitored the frog's movements, witnessing it turn around and change positions, while the mushroom remained securely in place. Lohit also took to Instagram to share this extraordinary discovery, noting, "This observation marks a first-time occurrence and comes from the foothills of the Kudremukha Ranges in the Western Ghats, Karkala taluk of Karnataka."
Alyssa Wetterau Kaganer, a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Public and Ecosystem Health at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, expressed her fascination with the find. She told CNN, "Fungi are dynamic organisms that adapt to changes in their environment, and with exposure to new potential hosts in different environments or climates, they may grow in places we hadn’t previously expected."
Kaganer added that predicting the frog's fate would require a thorough study of its condition. She explained, "An otherwise healthy frog may be able to withstand mild colonization of its skin by this fungus without any adverse health effects. Fungal infections in frogs are very common; however, if the mushroom were to grow extensively on the skin or burrow within the animal’s body, the animal may develop signs of a fungal disease."
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 "Researchers left baffled by discovery of frog with mushroom sprouting from skin, details inside")
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