Some people think all frogs are amazing jumpers. If you thought this, think again. When pumpkin toadlets leap, they spin and turn in the air, as if they had just been thrown by a toddler.

When pumpkin toadlets jump, they tumble and flip. This is because they lack the internal equipment that is necessary to sense and respond to the changes that happen when they rotate mid-air.

Generally, the fluid in animals’ bony inner ears help them detect their position, however the pumpkin toadlets tubes are the smallest that have ever been recorded for an adult invertebrate. Some other studies have shown that the pumpkin toadlet tubes don’t work very well, as they fly freely through the air. The frogs probably find it difficult to control themselves and prep for landing. When pumpkin toadlets jump they often land on their belly or land hard on their backs. The bony plate on the pumpkin toadlets back may give a little crash protection, but these frogs generally stay on the ground and crawl instead of jumping.