Category: Amphibians
This small, arboreal frog is widespread in the Eastern United States and Southeastern Canada. They are able to camouflage themselves by changing their skin color to match their surroundings. They change color at a slower rate than a chameleon, but can vary their hue from nearly black to almost white. The gray tree frog has an extra set of chromosomes, so is sometimes also called the tetraploid gray tree frog. An astonishing adaptation of these frogs is that they can survive freezing of their internal bodily fluids to as low as -8 degrees Celsius!
Learn more about the Gray Tree Frog at Wikipedia and Reptiles Magazine.
Make sure you retract your eyes 30 times before swallowing!
It has long been known that Frogs retract their eyes and close them while eating, leading scientists to suspect that frogs use their eyes to help them swallow. This suspicion was finally confirmed in 2004, when the northern leopard frog was observed by scientists retracting its eyes while swallowing crickets, actually using them to help push the food toward its esophagus!
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