Darkfrog submitted, created time 6 months 5 days (sciencenow.sciencemag.org)

I've said it before; I'll say it again: You would NEVER see this in Nature. In a writeup by Lauren Cahoon, Science compares a rare frog behavior to characters from Marvel Comics.

Science reports that certain African frogs of the Arthroleptidae variety have a very interesting way of repelling attackers. Researchers who picked up live frogs often found themselves scratched and bleeding, as if cut by claws ...which frogs don't have.

It turns out that, when angered, these frogs extend their sharp wrist bones STRAIGHT THROUGH THEIR SKIN at their attacker just like Wolverine from X-men (except there's no adamantium and the frogs look like they bathe more). Researchers speculate that it also might be useful for clinging to rocks.

Keywords: frogs amphibians zoology science and culture