Tadpoles can change colour to blend in with their environment


Tadpoles will be darker or lighter relying on the surroundings they’re raised in

Liedtke, H.C., Lopez-Hervas, Okay., Galván, I. et al.

Tadpoles can change their color to raised match their surroundings, making them tougher for predators to identify.

The younger amphibians are widespread prey for birds and fish and the flexibility to camouflage might be essential for his or her survival, says Christoph Liedtke on the Doñana Organic Station in Seville, Spain.

To study extra about how they do that, Liedtke and his colleagues carried out experiments with western spadefoot toad (Pelobates cultripes) tadpoles. They grew 5 …