12 Elusively Blue Animals: The Rarest Creatures of All
Blue Poison Dart Frog
A blue poison dart frog resting on a green leaf
ferdinando valverde / Getty Images
The blue poison dart frog (Dendrobates tinctorius "azureus") is found in the forests of southern Suriname and northern Brazil in South America. The frog's blue coloration warns predators that it is poisonous, a phenomenon known as aposematism, and is caused by the structure of its skin cells. Frog skin has a layer of cells called xanthophores, which produce yellow pigments and rest on top of a layer of cells called iridophores. When light hits a frog's skin, it passes through the layer of xanthophores to the layer of iridophores, which then scatter the blue light back through the xanthophores.
Since the xanthophores produce yellow pigments, the yellow mixes with the blue light scattered by the iridophores, making frogs appear green. However, the blue poison dart frog has reduced xanthophores, meaning that almost no yellow pigment is produced in its skin. Thus, the blue light scattered by the iridophores never mixes with yellow pigment, making the frog appear blue.
A blue poison dart frog resting on a green leaf
ferdinando valverde / Getty Images
The blue poison dart frog (Dendrobates tinctorius "azureus") is found in the forests of southern Suriname and northern Brazil in South America. The frog's blue coloration warns predators that it is poisonous, a phenomenon known as aposematism, and is caused by the structure of its skin cells. Frog skin has a layer of cells called xanthophores, which produce yellow pigments and rest on top of a layer of cells called iridophores. When light hits a frog's skin, it passes through the layer of xanthophores to the layer of iridophores, which then scatter the blue light back through the xanthophores.
Since the xanthophores produce yellow pigments, the yellow mixes with the blue light scattered by the iridophores, making frogs appear green. However, the blue poison dart frog has reduced xanthophores, meaning that almost no yellow pigment is produced in its skin. Thus, the blue light scattered by the iridophores never mixes with yellow pigment, making the frog appear blue.
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30 August 2023
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