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Incredible Tales of Animals That Lived Underground for Decades

toad in rock
A mummified toad, claimed to have been found by workmen within a flint nodule in a Lewes quarry around 1900. Presented by Charles Dawson and now in Booth Museum Brighton. Hzh, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

If you’re from Texas you may have heard the story of Ol’ Rip, a lizard that was sealed in a time capsule for 30 years, but found alive when the capsule was opened. 

That story is far from the only one about lizards or amphibians being found alive in seemingly impossible locations. But, before we get into other examples of “entombed” animals, I thought I’d share Ol’ Rip’s fascinating story. 

Blinky The Texas Horned Lizard

Texas Horned Lizard
Texas Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum), Texas, USA. Image via Depositphotos

Ol’ Rip was a Texas horned lizard (also called a horned toad) that was captured in Eastland County, Texas, by 4-year-old Will Wood, who originally named him Blinky. Will’s dad, Eastland County Clerk Ernest E. Wood, had read that horned lizards could live up to 100 years in hibernation. 

Around that time, in 1897, a time capsule was to be placed inside a newly built courthouse in the county. Wood decided to test the theory and suggested placing the horned lizard inside the keystone capsule. 

Ol’ Rip Is Reborn 

Ol’ Rip on display at the Eastland County Courthouse. Image by QuesterMark via Flickr

In 1928, 31 years later, the capsule was to be opened and word spread about the lizard, attracting over 1,000 people to bear witness. When it was opened, the lizard was retrieved and it lurched back to life. He was then renamed “Ol’ Rip” after Rip Van Winkle. This lizard even met President Calvin Coolidge before its death a year later. 

A Hoax? 

ol' rip
Ol’ Rip in his coffin at the Eastland County Courthouse, Photo taken in 2003. ToddKent, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Not everyone was convinced of Ol’ Rip’s authenticity. Wood had stated that he wasn’t entirely sure Blinky had been placed in the capsule in the first place, and others have argued that the conditions weren’t right for the lizard to enter hibernation. Further, it has been suggested that, due to the buzz about the lizard, the unveiling of the live lizard was an orchestrated stunt. 

What do you think? 

The Phenomenon of Entombed Animals

green frog
European green frog. Image via Depositphotos

Even though Ol’ Rip’s story has been met with skepticism, it’s just one of many stories about lizards, frogs and toads being found in nearly unbelievable locations.  

1733 – Wamlingebo, Sweden

sandstone quarry
Photograph of a Sandstone quarry in Sweden, taken in 1904. Tekniska museet, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Two quarry workers split a block of sandstone and found a grey frog covered with a yellow membrane inside. The rock was from the Solarian Hamra formation, believed to be 410 million years old. The frog barely moved, but appeared alive, it is now known as “the frog of Nybro.”

1782 – Paris, France

A painting of Benjamin Franklin from 1778 by Joseph-Siffred Duplessis (1725–1802). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Benjamin Franklin wrote about quarry workers who claimed to have found two toads inside an encased limestone boulder, one appearing to be alive. Franklin visited the site, estimated the boulder to be a few thousand years old, and studied the pair of frogs. By then, however, the living one had also died.  

1825 – Oxfordshire, England

William Buckland – English clergyman, geologist and palaeontologist (1784-1856) by Samuel Cousins. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Professor Reverend William Buckland tested the phenomenon by sealing 24 toads in a block of limestone and in sandstone, then buried them for a year. 

Upon retrieval, all toads in the sandstone block had died, but some in the limestone block had survived. However, Buckland noticed cracks in the limestone, so he fixed the cracks and resealed the toads. Unfortunately, the next time it was opened, all toads had died.

1865 – Devonshire, England

devon home
Watercolor painting of a home in Devon, England. Rev. John Swete (d.1821), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Gasfitter Eric G. Mackley wrote in a letter to Julian Huxley, a British evolutionary biologist, that he had found 23 frogs encased in the concrete walls of a home, which hopped away when released.

1876 – Uitenhage, South Africa

Uitenhage
The Government Offices, Uitenhage, South Africa. The National Archives UK, OGL v1.0OGL v1.0, via Wikimedia Commons

According to the South African newspaper Uitenhage Times, sawyers cutting a 16-ft trunk into lumber uncovered a hole the size of a wine glass. Inside were 68 small toads, which hopped out and away as if nothing had happened. All about them was solid yellow wood, with nothing to indicate how they could have got there, how long they had been there, or how they could have lived without food, drink, or air. 

Hibernating Lizards? 

frog
A frog’s hideout for winter. Image via Depositphotos

Whether or not Ol’ Rip was in fact Blinky, what Wood had read about hibernating reptiles and amphibians wasn’t necessarily false.

Now, mammals like bears hibernate by consuming enough food that their body can live off their fat stores during frigid conditions. What amphibians and reptiles do is slightly different from hibernation – it’s a process called estivation.  

Estivation

Sand lizard  snow
Sand lizard (Lacerta agilis) in the snow. Image via Depositphotos

Estivation is a process whereby an animal slows their metabolic rate down to near death in order to survive. The animal will often burrow into the ground or find a cool, sheltered spot to reduce its body temperature and minimise its water loss. 

This adaptation helps animals survive periods of extreme heat and drought. They essentially press “pause” on living. But for an animal to be able to enter estivation long enough that they can be sealed shut in a rock or other impossible place seems unlikely. 

The Wood Frog

wood frog
Wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus). The Cosmonaut, CC BY-SA 2.5 CA, via Wikimedia Commons

An animal that has a unique estivation mechanism is the wood frog, which can freeze its body over winter and thaw out in the spring. The frog’s liver produces a special antifreeze that prevents its body fluids from freezing, allowing it to survive temperatures as low as –18 °C. 

The Texas Horned Frog

texas horned lizard
Texas Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum) New Mexico, USA. Patrick Alexander from Las Cruces, NM, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Texas horned frog can enter estivation during frigid conditions for a period of around 6 months by hiding in moist, loose soil.

Extremophiles

brine shrimp
Brine shrimp – also known as “Sea Monkeys” – are extremophiles. Image via Depositphotos

Animals have developed remarkable survival abilities over time, allowing some species to survive for millions of years and in diverse environments.  

So Is “Lizards in Rocks” a Real Thing? 

lizard
A lizard poking its head out of a rock crevice. Image via Depositphotos

Many reports could be misinterpretations, with possible exaggerations about there being no crevices that allowed frogs or lizards to enter and appear to be encased.

Further, this phenomenon was reported quite a lot over a period of less than 200 years, meaning it might have been a trend at the time. Particularly because there is no existing physical evidence to suggest that all the reports were true.

However, most tales do come from some semblance of truth, and it isn’t impossible to believe that these animals put themselves in a state of estivation just to became sealed later.

Any Other Animals in Rocks?

amber insect
Baltic amber with a preserved prehistoric insect specimen. Image via Depositphotos

Not in the same way, no. Of course, fossils are rocks that are created over millions of years of sediment hardening around a dead plant or animal. But the point is the animal or plant is dead. 

There have also been many specimens found of insects trapped in amber. Amber starts out as tree resin, which is sticky and traps insects in the same way bees sometimes get trapped in honey. The resin hardens with fossilization, and whatever was caught inside is preserved. Amber is particularly cool given that it’s somewhat transparent, allowing us to see anything trapped.

Further Scientific Exploration

daisy
Daisy flower blooming on a sand desert. Image via Depositphotos

Maybe there’s something we can learn from the unique survival abilities that animals have evolved over millions of years. Perhaps we can learn how to prolong our own survival or learn to withstand severe climate change. Who knows. 

Conclusion

lizard
Image via Depositphotos

Thanks for reading!

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