Rare Blue Tree Frog Discovered in Remote Part of Australia

Photo: Jake Barker/Australian Wildlife Conservancy

Land managers at a wildlife sanctuary in Western Australia were in for a treat when a frog hopped into their workshop. As the amphibian sat on a bench and gazed up at them, they couldn't help but be fascinated by its blue color. So they snapped a photo and sent it over to Jake Barker, a field ecologist at the Australian Wildlife Conservancy. Barker couldn't believe what he saw.

“Seeing the picture of the frog, it definitely elevated my heart rate,” Barker told ABC News. “It was so cool, it was a really exciting and special thing.”

The magnificent tree frog (Litoria splendida) is typically green with white spots. This large tree frog is found in a limited range that includes Kimberley, where the sanctuary is located. Finding a blue member of the species is extremely rare, as they're often quickly spotted by predators. In fact, it's the first time the Australian Wildlife Conservancy has seen a blue magnificent tree frog.

“Frogs have blue and yellow pigments in their skin. That usually combines to form green, so most frogs are green,” Barker shares. “And this is a rare mutation called axanthism, when the yellow pigments are inhibited and it just leaves the blue to come through. And for it to be pretty much the entire frog blue is really rare.”

Jodi Rowley, curator of Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Biology at the Australian Museum, backed up Barker's conclusion: “I’ve seen tens of thousands of frogs over the years, and only seen one blue frog—and it was nowhere near as spectacular as this magnificent tree frog. A rare encounter and one that highlights the spectacular diversity of Australia’s frogs.”

The species can live for up to 20 years, and, given its size, Rowley believes that it is a few years old. “It's a very healthy frog,” Rowley says. “It's definitely a showy frog. It's one of the most beautiful frogs I've ever seen.”

Magnificent tree frogs are usually green, but a frog with a blue mutation was found in Western Australia.

hoto: Evan Picket via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The nocturnal frog was discovered at the Charnley River-Artesian Range Wildlife Sanctuary in Kimberley.

h/t: [Live Science]