Scientists Left Concerned After Making a Bizarre Discovery of a Mushroom Sprouting From a Frog’s Leg

Nature has a way of surprising us—sometimes in the most unsettling ways. In the lush greens of the Western Ghats in India, one can experience everything. From rare birds to never-before-seen insects. But nothing could have prepared researchers for what they stumbled upon in June 2023, stated Reptiles and Amphibians. What seemed like an ordinary frog at first glance soon turned into a case that has left the experts too stunned to speak.

In a moment that has gagged the field of herpetology, researchers came across not a dead but a live frog with a mushroom growing out of its leg. This incident was one of a kind as it was never recorded before in the world. The frog known as Rao’s intermediate golden-backed frog (Hylarana intermedia) had, surprisingly, what seemed to be a Bonnet Mushroom (Mycena sp.) growing right out of its side, stated CNN.

The researchers noted, "To the best of our knowledge, never has a mushroom sprouting from the flank of a live frog been documented." An important point to note is that this discovery is baffling experts because mushrooms typically grow on dead or decaying organic matter, but that was not the case this time.

The Mycena genus, to which this mushroom belongs, is famous for flourishing on rotting wood, not on living creatures. So the main question is, how did it end up on a frog? Dr. Alyssa Wetterau Kaganer, a postdoctoral associate at Cornell University, remarked, "Fungi are dynamic organisms that adapt to changes in their environment, and with exposure to new potential hosts in different environments or climates, they may grow in places we hadn’t previously expected…an otherwise healthy frog may be able to withstand mild colonization of its skin by this fungus without any adverse health effects…"

Moreover, veteran conservation scientist Karthikeyan Vasudevan from India’s Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology echoed similar concerns. Initially, he thought the mushroom might have been stuck to the frog’s skin, but after further analysis, it was revealed that it was a live mushroom on a live frog. As unbelievable as it may sound, one can not deny this discovery after seeing the images. One particular theory he floated was that a fragment of woody debris lodged under the frog’s skin, and therefore, it may have allowed the fungus to grow. But all this remains a speculation.

As if this were not enough, another trouble for India is their battle with chytridiomycosis, a deadly fungal disease caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis—a parasite infamous for wiping out amphibian populations by damaging their skin’s ability to regulate salts and fluids. Kaganer remarked, "This specific type of mushroom is not closely related to the species of fungus that cause chytridiomycosis, so I am not concerned that this mushroom is a direct sign of chytridiomycosis…However, it is possible that a frog with Mycena might have altered susceptibility to a chytrid infection." Sadly, the researchers did not collect this bizarre frog, and therefore, its future remains a mystery.