This bizarre-looking creature is causing heated debate online with many people doubting whether it can possibly be real?
The images were posted online by Facebook user Lim Khyhong who reportedly found the chubby disc-like creature during excavation work on the outskirts of the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.
With its large round body, tiny feet, and piercing eyes – and the fact that it seems to be smiling – the chubby chap has left many people questioning whether it is actually real or fake.
Lim Khyhong said the creature lived in the ground and only came out once or twice a year. He asked his Facebook friends if they could identify it and the images then went viral.
Some people suggested it was artificial and made of plastic or ceramic, while others thought it might be a turtle that had lost its shell.
However, the debate ended when biologist Jodi Rowley, who specialises in conservation projects and who is particularly keen on frogs, revealed on Twitter that it is in fact an amphibian.
She wrote: “This #frog is doing the rounds on social media. It’s a Blunt-headed Burrowing Frog (Glyphoglossus molossus). Native to drier parts of mainland SE Asia, this species spends most of its life underground, waiting for rain. They’ve a great shape for burrowing & conserving water.”
She added that when the blunt-headed burrowing frog feels threatened, it has the ability to make itself seem considerably larger in order to deter potential threats.
Rowley said the frog may look big and scary, although most online commentators seem to feel that the frog was not that frightening, with many people saying they wanted to own one.
Comments like: “what a cool creature” and “I absolutely love him” showed that most people were clearly fans and not at all put off by the frog’s unusual look.
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Story By: James King, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash
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