Kermit

An art teacher friend recently posted a delightful piece of amphibian news. It’s too good not to share and it’s also 100% fact checked. Kermit the Frog has been discovered living in the rainforests of Costa Rica.

Hyalinobatrachium dianae, also known as Diane’s bare-hearted glass frog, is one of 14 species of Costa Rican glass frogs, and it’s a dead ringer for Kermit, albeit a miniature version. This rain forest frog is only 2.7 to 2.9 centimeters long.

The tiny Kermit lookalike was discovered by Brian Kubicki who named it in honor of his mother, Janet Diane Kubicki. He wanted to thank her for supporting his interest in natural science, especially frogs and fish. As a hunter of frogs, he further liked the name Diana as she was the Roman goddess of the hunt and lived in mountains.

Costa Rican Kermit is a glass frog which means its internal organs (little red heart, veins, etc.) are visible through its transparent abdominal skin. The males can be distinguished from other species of glass frogs by their “single, tonal, long, metallic, whistle-like note”. This is known as an “advertisement” call and is used to attract females.

The Muppet version of Kermit now works for the Disney corporation. Muppet Kermit was interviewed about his thoughts on his real life counterpart, Hyalinobatrachium. Here are a few excerpts from that interview. (from the Oh My Disney site)

Does this discovery make it any easier being green?

Absolutely. Being green is easy compared to being transparent. I thought that I blended in with so many other ordinary things. And that people tended to pass me over ’cause I wasn’t standing out like flashy sparkles in the water or stars in the sky, But when you are transparent, folks really look straight through you. It’s almost like you are invisible…which might come in handy around Miss Piggy.

If you could tell Hyalinobatrachium anything, what would it be?

Shorten your name if you want to make it in show business. Maybe something catchy like Diane Glass or Kermina Kardashian.

How did Miss Piggy react to the news?

She’s jealous. Not about me being involved with another frog, she’s just jealous that this new frog is getting more publicity than her.

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