DES MOINES, Iowa – Have you ever seen a blue bullfrog? People in Iowa have, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
The government organization said after it had a report of a blue bullfrog, its biologists looked into the phenomenon.
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The Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ website reads: “There are several genes that make a frog green or brown, and these genes result in various structures being created in the frog’s skin layers. The lower skin layer reflects light, and as that light passes through the upper skin layers, various wavelengths are filtered out so the frog looks green or greenish-brown.”
“In some frogs, a genetic mutation removes some of the skin’s ability to produce yellow pigment. That can filter out certain wavelengths, which results in a blue bullfrog.”
The blue frogs are thought to be a rare sight in the wild because their odd coloring makes them much more visible to predators. In effect, they get eaten faster than their normal green- to brown-colored relatives that use their coloration to blend into the vegetation and mud in ponds and lakes.
This is at least the fifth blue bullfrog the Iowa Department of Natural Resources said they’ve had reported. Some of the frogs have more vivid coloring than others.