Treefrog ‘fingerprints’ are on their eyeballs
Popular Science · 22 Oct 2026

Treefrog ‘fingerprints’ are on their eyeballs

Published Oct 22, 2026 1:06 PM EDT Our fingerprints, patterns on whale flukes, and fur patterns on cheetahs are examples of the natural ways we can tell one individual animal from another. For an Amazonian treefrog called the egg-eating spiny-backed frog (Osteocephalus oophagus), we need to look into their eyeballs. Fine black radial lines cross their golden irises, and form a pattern similar to our fingerprints. A study recently published in the journal Herpetozoa details the discovery.


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