Comments on: Pocket Science – belly-flopping frogs, and fattening marmots

By: TR Gregory

TR Gregory — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:19:54 +0000

“one of the most primitive groups of frogs”

“Primitive” refers to characters, not species or groups of species. This is the same misconception that leads people to call platypuses “primitive” when they have many derived features like bills, venom, and electroreception.

THESE ARE ALL MODERN SPECIES. THEIR LINEAGES HAVE BEEN EVOLVING FOR EXACTLY THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME SINCE DIVERGING FROM A COMMON ANCESTOR.

“They’ve stayed very small to limit the injuries they sustain”

Unless you have fossil or other historical information, you can’t say that this isn’t a secondary reduction in body size as an adaptation to their environment.

“they have large shield-shaped piece of cartilage on their undersides to protect their soft vital organs.”

And this is ancestral as well? Or is this a derived feature? If the latter, that goes against the claim that they maintain an ancestral jumping style.

By: southlakesmom

southlakesmom — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 11:07:03 +0000

My husband the pilot says that “any landing you walk away from is a good landing.”

By: Walter S. Andriuzzi

Walter S. Andriuzzi — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 10:45:18 +0000

On the belly-flopping frogs: another hit to the “irreducible complexity” or “where are the missing links” claims of creationists. And the music is really apt

By: Ed Yong

Ed Yong — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 18:11:35 +0000

The music was my choice

By: Rhacodactylus

Rhacodactylus — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 10:54:12 +0000

No deep thoughts, just thought someone needed to compliment the video creator on their music choice. If I ever jump 5 times my body length, I demand the same thing be playing . . .is that too much to ask?

By: Albertonykus

Albertonykus — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 01:55:40 +0000

Frogs are neat.

By: Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 19:37:18 +0000

Hi!

Your link to the Wolverine frogs doesn’t seem to be working for me. It’s currently linked to “http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2010/07/23/=”

By: Lilian Nattel

Lilian Nattel — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:18:28 +0000

Climate change is just change. From a human point of view it might be disastrous because it may not favour our way of life or the flora and fauna that we prefer, but life will continue. Diversity might shrink for a while, but it will bounce back at at least in geological time. I don’t know whether humans will still be around but life will in all of its diversity and curiousness. As a particular human being, I find frogs particularly appealing. Thanks for the information. It reminds me of how my children have learned to dive. Belly flops first.

By: Dennis

Dennis — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:49:42 +0000

Hey, nice marmot!