Researchers catch biggest tadpole on record [where in Arizona? Article didn't say]

[Waterbaby]

Researchers catch biggest tadpole on record

By Tamar Lapin

June 14, 2018 | 4:40pm | Updated




Modal Trigger

The tadpole discovered by the American Museum of Natural History's Southwestern Research Station Twitter


This critter might be a tad too big.
The largest bullfrog tadpole on record was discovered by a volunteer at the American Museum of Natural History’s Southwestern Research Station in Arizona, researchers said Thursday.

Earyn McGee, PhD student at the University of Arizona originally tweeted an image of the freaky larva – to the horror, or delight, of many.
“A look through the scientific literature suggests this is the largest bullfrog tadpole ever recorded. Rare indeed!” said Geoff Bender, the director of the Southwestern Research Station.

While tadpoles are usually pretty small, the one in the picture has grown to epic proportions.
Researchers think its size is due to a hormonal imbalance and don’t believe it’ll ever metamorphose and turn into a frog, McGee said.
The record-breaking amphibian was found in a local landowner’s pond in March, as researchers drained the area on non-native predatory bullfrogs, Bender said.
Some Twitter users joked the overgrown tadpole was a baby Godzilla or said it looked like a creature out of Netflix sci-fi show “Stranger Things.”
“This is definitely going to haunt my dreams,” wrote @ocean_ginger.

The AMNH didn’t immediately return a request for comment.

McGee’s post had been liked over 3,000 times and retweeted over 1,000 times as of Thursday.

 

[linnell]

"we're gonna need a bigger boat"

 

[Meatwagon]

As a boy growing up on the Mississippi, I used to catch my fair share of them and they were not any bigger than my thumb. this thing looks to be 10 in.

 

[Outside]

That's eating size

 

[Rexfly]

"I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."

 

[Fursniper]

The American Museum of Natural History’s Southwestern Research Station is located in the Chiricahua Mountains which is in the southeast corner of AZ. Having been there, I'm gonna stick my neck out and guess that the tadpole may have been found in a livestock water catchment on private land somewhere near the research station. Eradicating non-native bullfrogs from livestock waters has been an ongoing project in AZ to re-establish the Chiricahua leopard frog which is the native species.