29K views · 466 reactions | Scientists have unexpectedly discovered highly fluorescent patterns in two species of pumpkin toadlets. In Scientific Reports they describe how the patterns are created by bony plates lying directly beneath a very thin skin. Read the paper here: https://go.nature.com/2TNcGtV | Nature Portfolio | Facebook

6K views | Backward Jumping Frogs – The pumpkin toadlet often loses balance mid-air and may jump backward due to poor coordination. | Zoré & Tomek | Facebook

Some frogs are clumsier than others. Enter the pumpkin toadlet, captured here by amphibian disease ecologist Shannon Buttimer. This tiny frog has the smallest ear canals recorded in any vertebrate, and since the inner ear is typically responsible for regulating balance, they can't reorient themselves quickly enough to stick the landing. These frogs make it work, though. They use jumping as a defense mechanism, and focus on distance over grace. Their color allows them to match leaf debris, and up