Frogs Glow In The Dark, All Of Them (Keanu 'Whoa')

From the depths of the earth to the darkest corners of the ocean, there's still a fascinating well of life left to be discovered on this planet, but we were pretty sure we knew everything about frogs. We don't generally allow actual school kids to stab things with scalpels if there's any possibility of surprise. So imagine researchers' shock at their shock to discover that frogs glow in the dark. Apparently all of them.

It's not clear why scientists at St. Cloud State University decided to put some amphibians under various wavelengths of light, but it seems likely that it was the product of an interdepartmental rave in the herpetology lab. This suspicion is not allayed by researcher Jennifer Lamb's report that the results of their first test were met with "a collective 'Woah!'" After observing glowing green light coming from the yellow spots of an Eastern tiger salamander, they tried it with another species. And then another. And then another. By the time the experiment was over (and they had presumably dealt with their hangovers), they couldn't find a single species that didn't glow in the dark.

Of course, scientists have known for years that various ocean animals, from jellyfish to sharks, exhibit what they call "bioluminescence" (that's the word for when your body glows), but they didn't tell me personally about the glowing sharks, which is pretty rude. They also didn't know that land animals could do it even though one trip to Burning Man would have proven it. Their working theory is that the trait evolved in amphibians because, much like the plumage adopted by niche pop culture fans, it helped them recognize each other so they can mate.

In fact, one species, the otherwise plain-looking Rio Cauca caecilian, displayed particularly bright light from its "reproductive cloacal disc." So we will leave you now with this glowing frog dick.

Manna is the glowing frog dick of Twitter.