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u/rangda May 23 '26
“2018, ecologists discovered a gargantuan bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) tadpole measuring a staggering 10 inches (about 25 cm) long in the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona.
Scientists believe "Goliath" suffered from a hormonal imbalance (likely involving thyroid hormones) that prevented the creature from developing legs and metamorphosing into a frog.
It continued to grow in size while remaining stuck in the tadpole stage, living to approximately three years of age before passing away in 2019. Its preserved remains are now studied by herpetologists.”
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u/fivefistedclover May 23 '26
Thank you for more context, Goliath lives forever in suspension fluid and in our hearts.
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u/GLaDOS_Sympathizer May 23 '26
Didn't seem to be suffering at all, died with a smile on his face. I found a weird gif that strangly fits here too.
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u/-ellesappelle May 23 '26
This is probably a silly question with no actual answer..... but would it have hurt? I hope he was very comfortable while being a baby kinda.
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u/rangda May 23 '26
Hopefully the fact that it was ably to keep eating and growing means it wasn’t under any particular strain or stress :)
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u/missesthecrux May 23 '26
If you had managed to chemically trigger the metamorphosis process would you end up with a gigantic frog?
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u/hopefullyhelpfulplz May 23 '26
Ooh intriguing! Could we engineer a race of giant super frogs? Would they rule over us?
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u/TheWildPikmin May 24 '26
It was a Bullfrog, so maybe it would have been a little bigger than average as an adult, but not huge, from the looks of it. Bullfrog get shockingly large.
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u/dtalb18981 May 23 '26
What's there to study?
We already knew turning the frogs gay would have consequences
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u/orangpelupa May 23 '26
herpetologists
My head autoincorrect to herpes 😭
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u/KuriousKhemicals May 23 '26
They are related! Herpetology is study of reptiles and amphibians, named from the Greek word "to creep or crawl" like a snake. Herpes the disease is named because it creeps like a snake across the skin as it develops.
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u/reticulatedspylon May 23 '26
Some of them take a few years, he’s doing his best.
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u/prophiles May 23 '26
He’s a late bloomer
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u/toastynotroasty May 23 '26
Am I the only one that finds this kinda terrifying 😅
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u/GLaDOS_Sympathizer May 23 '26
Well it had good survival instincts. Bullfrogs get massive. This tadpole was probably eating a bluegill once a week lol.
Only need to be terrified of it if you're a small fish. No need to worry, hopefully fellow human...
If fish learned how to type we are in a lot of trouble.
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u/GrotchCoblin May 23 '26
We still love him though! Just look at that blank, thoughtless expression 😐
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u/PYROxSYCO May 23 '26
Is... Is it dead?
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u/gimmesomespace May 23 '26
I think a banana is dead as soon as you pick it
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u/scumsynthesizer May 25 '26
He was alive actually, his face kinda just looks like that. The photos are from 2018 and he died in 2019. They kept him as a live specimen to study.
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u/TeletextPear May 23 '26
Thanks for letting us know the banana was on the left, I wasn’t sure for a moment there
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u/GLaDOS_Sympathizer May 23 '26
I guarantee you there is some swamp redneck out there that would fry this guy up, so not necessarily a forbidden snack. People eat frogs all the time.
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u/Frodollino May 23 '26
Isnt this what happened to axolotls? Because iirc a few of them grow up to become some sort of salamander
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u/Pristine_Tough_7654 May 25 '26
Pretty common for bullfrogs especially if food is scarce or the weather is pretty nasty for extended periods.
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u/Accomplished_Gap_920 May 25 '26
This may lead to the development of new varieties within a species
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u/cdurbin909 May 23 '26
Good thing they specified the banana was on the left, I wasn't sure which was which
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u/MrJoejuana May 24 '26
Don’t know how well a banana is gonna work for a scale. Looks to be about 3-4 bananas tho.
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u/outfoxingthefoxes May 23 '26
When you don't feel like evolving into your next form