Very unusual species of frog discovered in Cambodia: Green-blood and turquoise bones!

A new species of frog, with green blood and turquoise-coloured bones, has been found in Cambodia's remote Cardamom Mountains by international conservation organisation Fauna & Flora International (FFI).

The Samkos bush frog (scientific name Chiromantis samkosensis) is thought to be extremely rare. Its strange coloured bones and blood are caused by the pigment biliverdin, a waste product usually processed in the liver. In this species, the biliverdin is passed back into the blood giving it a green colour; a phenomenon also seen in some lizards. The green biliverdin is visible through the frog's thin, translucent skin, making it even better camouflaged and possibly even causing it to taste unpalatable to predators.

The new frog is just one of four new-to-science frog species discovered by FFI in Cambodia. The Cardamom bush frog (Philautus cardamonus) and Smith's frog (Rana faber) are named after the cardamom plant and in honour of the British herpetologist Malcolm Smith, respectively. The Aural horned frog (Megophrys auralensis) is so named due to the short horn-like protrusions above its eyes. These species have only ever been seen in the peaks of the Cardamom Mountains.

Fauna & Flora International consultant naturalist and photographer Jeremy Holden, who discovered the Samkos bush frog, said: ‘When I found the frog, I had a thrilling suspicion that we were looking at an entirely new species of amphibian. Photographing these frogs has been a challenge. They were extremely difficult to find, but thanks to their distinctive calls we managed to get some excellent shots and record them for posterity.'