This has nothing to do with Karl Rove: get lost.

October 15, 2003 6:08 PM

Old purple frog danced with dinosaurs:"In a commentary accompanying the study, astrobiologist Blair Hedges of Pennsylvania State University called the discovery 'a once-in-a-century find.'"
posted by The God Complex (30 comments total)

That is one fucked-up-looking frog. Its head looks like a pygmy shrew.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 6:26 PM on October 15, 2003

"A bright purple frog shaped like a donut with a pointy snout has been discovered in the mountains of southern India."

I live for stories like this.
Really. Sad, but true.
posted by batgrlHG at 6:42 PM on October 15, 2003

very cool, but it looks kinda alien to me--are they sure it's from here?
posted by amberglow at 6:43 PM on October 15, 2003

I've never seen a donut shaped like that before.
posted by dobbs at 6:49 PM on October 15, 2003

dobbs: think jelly.
posted by gleuschk at 6:51 PM on October 15, 2003

"........astrobiologist Blair Hedges of Pennsylvania State University called the discovery.........."

astrobiologist???
posted by y6y6y6 at 6:54 PM on October 15, 2003

I, for one, welcome our new ancient purple frog overlords.
posted by cinderful at 6:59 PM on October 15, 2003

Battleships come fighting me,
Tell me where you are,
Shining, flying purple bullfrogs,
Show me where you are...
posted by quonsar at 7:22 PM on October 15, 2003

GAH!!! "come fighting me" ? ?

always double check before copy/paste from stupid lyric site.

battleships confide in me,
tell me where you are.

no loose lips on those ships.
posted by quonsar at 7:24 PM on October 15, 2003

astrobiologist???

Yep.
posted by kickingtheground at 7:35 PM on October 15, 2003

"dobbs: think jelly"

Yes, of course!
*glee*
I admit, I was actually pondering the donut shaped part. And totally not getting it until that comment.
...I feel much better now.
Soon they'll let me leave the institute...
posted by batgrlHG at 7:40 PM on October 15, 2003

If I was an Astrobiologist, I'd be excited too.
posted by stbalbach at 7:43 PM on October 15, 2003

astrobiologist???

Hrm. Apparently more of an evolutionary biologist, though he is affiliated with the NASA Astrobiology Institute. He seems to like to find really tiny animals.
posted by whatnotever at 7:48 PM on October 15, 2003

"...thought to have disappeared millions of years ago."

I suppose it would've been too much to ask for the author to write "...croaked millions of years ago."

Theirs is no disgrace, I guess.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 7:56 PM on October 15, 2003

Theirs is no disgrace

The Yes references have now reached total mass retain.
posted by goethean at 8:03 PM on October 15, 2003

Botanists in Australia recently found a type of pine that was thought to been extinct for at least two million years.
posted by homunculus at 8:11 PM on October 15, 2003

From homunculus' link:

Today, the trees' home is a closely guarded secret. No roads lead to the area. Even scientists studying them are blindfolded as they are flown in by helicopter to the site.

WTF?
posted by kickingtheground at 8:16 PM on October 15, 2003

Frog, friend,
through history you hopped
and danced dodging dinosaurs toes
you rode Gondwana on its mighty shift
and stayed hidden, gemlike
through ice and fire and iron
ages

Now found! Valued, rare, mysterious -
Have we lost all imagination? Can we
picture you as naught but pastry confection?

Rarest jewel of India, I imagine
your journey, your survival and
adaptations, your history, your night
song, your scent, your texture and grain.

In my minds eye I elevate you in my palm.
Tiny, pointed noise, ideal and misshapen
Your limbs separate, strong, strange
Your eye regards me, foreign creature
that I am, young in the world
as you are wise in it
posted by anastasiav at 8:24 PM on October 15, 2003 [1 favorite has favorites]

That's supposed to be 'tiny, pointed nose'. Grrr.

[slinks off to bed, annoyed]
posted by anastasiav at 8:26 PM on October 15, 2003

Metafilter: tiny, pointed noise.
posted by yhbc at 9:33 PM on October 15, 2003

"Hello my baby, hello my honey. Hello my ragtime gaaal..."

Oh, wait...that was the green frog that danced and sang...nevermind.
posted by grefo at 10:01 PM on October 15, 2003

Beware, lest I poke you with my tiny pointed noise!
The tip is poisoned...
posted by batgrlHG at 10:17 PM on October 15, 2003

y6y6y6 - Could there possibly be life in other planets? If the answer is anything but no, you're going to need astrobiologists to go further. You'd think it is a highly theoretical field, but as this of discovery shows, it ain't so.
posted by magullo at 3:52 AM on October 16, 2003

Researchers say the small-headed critter belongs to a new family of frogs thought to have disappeared millions of years ago.

I am still scratching my head over that sentence.
posted by walrus at 4:00 AM on October 16, 2003

The Yes references have now reached total mass retain.

Stop it; you're pushing me close to the edge...
posted by ZenMasterThis at 4:45 AM on October 16, 2003

But if you can stand more, I have time and a word.
posted by walrus at 5:37 AM on October 16, 2003

Why is it purple? Kind of an unusual color for an animal. Though from the photo, I'd say it was more of a puce.
posted by piskycritter at 5:40 AM on October 16, 2003

My. I don't think I've ever seen so many spelling errors in a thread. I think the mere colour of that animal is hurting people's brains!
posted by five fresh fish at 10:52 AM on October 16, 2003

Today, the trees' home is a closely guarded secret. No roads lead to the area.
Even scientists studying them are blindfolded as they are flown in by helicopter to the site.

WTF?

Probably a good idea, as rare is always valuable. See Maritian wild coffee story for an example:

Take the wild coffee plant of Mauritius. Long thought to be extinct, a single plant was rediscovered in the 1980s. The government moved to protect it - eventually building four fences around it to keep natives from breaking off pieces of the plant, thought to have medicinal value.
posted by milovoo at 12:36 PM on October 17, 2003

The Official Purple Frog Appreciation Page
posted by homunculus at 10:34 AM on October 18, 2003