Hideous discovery

startling expressions of possible environmental degradation have been found in Minnesota, us . Deformed frogs have been seen in more than 100 sites in 54 of Minnesota's counties. At a recent conference of scientists convened by the Environmental Protection Agency ( epa ) in Duluth, Minnesota, the recurring thought was whether the presence in such large numbers of deformed frogs was a foreboding of possible similar occurrences in humans as well. Reports of deformed frogs have also poured in from other parts of the state.

The deformed frogs were first discovered by school children during a field trip in south-central Minnesota. The amphibians were either found with missing or withered hind legs or extra limbs. There were others which had legs webbed together with extra skin or with legs fused to the body. A particular frog which had only a single eye was found to have its second eye growing inside its throat.

The highest incidence of deformity was found among the mink frogs