highlights
This is the first time this has been seen on the skin of an animal.
Fungus grows on the skin of animals, but not like this.
Many experts are also surprised as to how the fungus took the shape of a mushroom.
Often scientists reach the forest to study animals. There they are able to get such information, which cannot be obtained by studying the animals after catching them. Scientists had a unique and quite surprising experience in the forest of the Western Ghats in India. When they were searching for reptiles and amphibians to study them, they found an animal on a branch, but surprisingly they saw a strange thing on its skin, which shocked them.
The frog attracted attention
India’s World Wildlife Fund expert Lohit Vaity and his team were discovering new species of amphibians and reptiles in the forests of the Western Ghats. According to the New York Times report, some golden-backed frogs were seen on a roadside, one of which particularly attracted him, which was sitting on a branch of a tree.
What was special about the frog?
After looking closely at the frog, he found that a small mushroom was growing on its back. This was quite surprising because it had never been seen or heard of mushrooms growing like this on the skin of any living animal before. Information about Lohit and his discovery has been published in the Reptiles and Amphibians Journal.
Before this, such mushrooms have not been seen growing on the skin of any animal. (Photo: Facebook/ WWF Inida)
What was the reaction?
This discovery has surprised not only the researchers but also all other scientists. When Lohit posted the pictures of that frog online, scientists said that its shape matches a type of bonnet mushroom. These mushrooms are called Mycena which grow mostly on rotting wood. But how they grew on the frog’s back was surprising.
Fungi and Mushrooms
Very few fungi can grow in mushrooms. Fungal spores grow on a surface and produce thread-like cells, mycelia. If they get adequate nutrition, they grow into mushrooms. But the strange thing was that how did this mushroom grow on the frog’s skin? The researchers did not catch this frog, nor did they take out the mushroom, so that it could be studied.
Fungi grow in many types of conditions. Sometimes they grow peacefully even on living beings. We humans ourselves have yeast-like fungi on our skin. But sometimes these are germs and Bactocytrium dendrobatidis or citrid can cause fatal diseases in frogs. Experts say that the fungus growing on the back of this frog does not seem to be disease causing. Detailed information in this matter cannot be found now, but this discovery has definitely given rise to a new debate.
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Tags: Amazing news, Bizarre news, OMG News, Weird news
FIRST PUBLISHED: February 13, 2024, 23:28 IST