New species of lungless frog found!

[mrhnau]

New Species of Frog found, without lungs!

The first lungless frog has been discovered lurking in the jungles of Borneo.
The enigmatic amphibian, dubbed Barbourula kalimantanensis , apparently gets all the oxygen it needs through its skin.
Scientists first saw one of these frogs 30 years ago, but due to their rarity, just one other specimen had been collected since then and neither had been dissected.

 

[MA-Caver]

New Species of Frog found, without lungs!

The first lungless frog has been discovered lurking in the jungles of Borneo.
The enigmatic amphibian, dubbed Barbourula kalimantanensis , apparently gets all the oxygen it needs through its skin.
Scientists first saw one of these frogs 30 years ago, but due to their rarity, just one other specimen had been collected since then and neither had been dissected.

Well gee how you gonna find out about anything if you don't take it apart first?
That's cool absorbing the oxygen through the skin. If we humans could do that we'd put a lid on air pollution a lot sooner!

 

[Empty Hands]

That's cool absorbing the oxygen through the skin. If we humans could do that we'd put a lid on air pollution a lot sooner!

All amphibians can do this to some extent. Actually, we humans absorb some oxygen through our skin too, but the amount is so small it makes no real difference compared to our needs.

That's why frogs can hang out on the lake bottom for days or weeks.

I wonder how the creationists will spin this one out since it clearly looks like a primitive, transitional amphibian?

 

[Steel Tiger]

Well gee how you gonna find out about anything if you don't take it apart first?
That's cool absorbing the oxygen through the skin. If we humans could do that we'd put a lid on air pollution a lot sooner!

In evolutionary terms osmotic respiration is something of a limiting factor. It works wonderfully for small creatures but larger ones cannot get enough oxygen to properly utilise large muscles. I think the largest skin-breather that has lived was a spider with a body about the size of a human head which lived about 160 million years ago.

I think you are right, though. If humans utilised osmotic respiration like these little frogs we would be a lot more cautious about air pollution. We would probably also all live along rivers (OK, we mostly do now anyway) and have very different looking cities.

 

[Big Don]

I think the largest skin-breather that has lived was a spider with a body about the size of a human head which lived about 160 million years ago.

Now that would be a spider worthy of running from.

 

[ArmorOfGod]

Very cool!
Thank you for sharing this. Stories like this are what excite me.
Now, I will run in there and tell my wife, who will roll her eyes and pretend to be interested.

AoG

 

[arnisador]

I saw this! Cool story. Who knew?

 

[tellner]

No frog pr0n?

 

[mrhnau]

I saw this! Cool story. Who knew?

That is what is so cool! So much we still don't know. New species constantly being discovered, or unique features about those we already know! I've always been excited by extremophiles, and I think there is so much left to be learned!

 

[ArmorOfGod]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23996711/
with a pic.

AoG