Scientists have discovered two new species of glass frogs in Ecuador with completely see-through bellies. The frogs were found near active mining areas in the Andes and have been named the Mashpi glass frog and the Nouns' glass frog.
Both animals look very similar, with see-through bellies revealing their red heart, white liver, digestive system, and, in the cases of females, green eggs.
Researchers from Universidad San Francisco de Quito discovered the new animals in the Andes – the Mashpi frog in the Mashpi Reserve, and the Nouns' frog in the Toisan range.
“A lot of these sites are incredibly remote, which is one of the reasons why we were able to discover new species,” explained Becca Brunner, one of the study's first authors. “You can walk just a couple of kilometers over a ridge and find a different community of frogs than where you started,” she said in a report published by The Daily Mail.
When the Mashpi glass frog was first found, the researchers initially thought it was the Valerioi glass frog – another species found in the lowlands.
