Scientists discovered a lungless frog, dubbed the Bornean flat-headed frog (Barbourula kalimantanensis), in a remote section of Indonesian Borneo's Kalimantan region.
David Bickford
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Scientists discovered a lungless frog, dubbed the Bornean flat-headed frog (Barbourula kalimantanensis), in a remote section of Indonesian Borneo's Kalimantan region. According to a report co-authored by David Bickford, an evolutionary biologist at the National University of Singapore, in the May 6 issue of Current Biology, the primitive amphibian absorbs oxygen through its skin. The researchers speculate that without lungs, the frog may be able to sink to the bottom of the freezing waters it inhabits. Previously, salamanders were the only four-limbed creatures, or tetrapods, known to lack lungs. Given that the trait of lunglessness is so rare, researchers are holding their collective breath in hopes that the Bornean flat-headed frog can provide insight into what drives evolution in certain species.
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