Nov 15, 2023
Hi! Love your blog and your work! What do you know about these guys? Are false eyes common in amphibians?
https://www.tumblr.com/vintagewildlife/734070740510507008/cuyaba-dwarf-frog-physalaemus-nattereri-showing?source=share
Yeah false eyes are really quite common in amphibians. We normally call them inguinal spots, which is a fancy way of saying hip spots. They show up in hundreds of species across numerous families. Few are quite as developed as Physalaemus nattereri, but e.g. Plethodontohyla ocellata is also pretty impressive.
[this fantastic figure from Noble's Biology of the Amphibia, 1931]
