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Frog retina shows no response to magnetic field direction, unlike the leading model for birds

October 26, 2026 (EMFS)
Oct 25, 2026 (original)
Source: Journal of Comparative Physiology A
Source category: Research
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Many animals, including frogs, use the Earth's magnetic field to steer their seasonal migrations, and in birds the leading candidate site for the sensor is the retina. Researchers at the Russian Academy of Sciences recorded electroretinograms from isolated marsh-frog retinas while turning a magnetic field through different directions, and found no response at any light wavelength. Their reading is that the frog's compass is either not in the retina, or too faint to register in a whole-retina recording. It is the second negative eye result this month, after an imaging screen found no magnetite magnetoreceptors in the mole-rat eye: two candidate mechanisms, two animals, both pointing away from the eye.

Quotes

"Frogs obtain information from the magnetic field (MF) to follow migratory directions during their movements between wintering and breeding sites."

— Astakhova et al.

"Our analysis revealed no significant effect of MF direction on the amplitudes of the a‑ or b‑waves of the ERG in response to light of any wavelength."

— Astakhova et al.

"This suggests that the sensory mechanism of the magnetic compass in frogs is either not located in the retina or that the reaction is so subtle that it cannot be recorded using the total ERG from the entire retina."

— Astakhova et al.

Location

📍 Russia

Map: Russia

Source

In search of magnetic compass in the retina of marsh frog, Pelophylax ridibundus. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

📄 Underlying Research

In search of magnetic compass in the retina of marsh frog, Pelophylax ridibundus.

Astakhova LA, Degtyareva KS, Rotov A, Cherbunin RV, Chernetsov N, Shakhparonov VV (2026) Journal of Comparative Physiology A. Sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology Journal Level 1ⓘ

🔗 DOI 📚 PubMed 📰 Full Article

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