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The article presents information about a deformed pacific treefrog, a tiny amphibian found from southern British Columbia to the tip of Baja California in Mexico, from sea level to mountain reaches. This creature has six hind limbs instead of the normal two, was captured as it metamorphosed from tadpole stage to full froghood. Malformed amphibians have been discovered in nearly every U.S. state since 1995, when a school biology class on a field trip found misshapen leopard frogs in a Minnesota pond. One explanation from scientists is that heavy infestations of parasitic flatworms, possibly due to environmental changes, are disrupting limb development in frogs and salamanders. Other scientific research points to endocrine disrupters as the culprit. Researchers use a process called "clearing and staining" to study the full anatomy of the deformed animals. Preserved specimens are first treated in chemicals that literally digest them to a semitransparent state. The specimen is then submersed in biological dyes that adhere to specific tissues such as cartilage or bone.