Rediscovered: 3 Extinct Amphibians
Posted by: Loren Coleman on September 24th, 2010
Two frogs and a salamander have been rediscovered during a worldwide quest to find extinct amphibians. The finds have included a Mexican salamander not seen since it was discovered in 1941, a frog from the Ivory Coast not seen since 1967 and another frog from Democratic Republic of Congo not seen since 1979.
The Mount Nimba Reed Frog (Hyperolius nimbae), Ivory Coast, was last seen in 1967. Also called the Omaniundu reed frog, it is a small and well camouflaged brown frog, and was rediscovered by local scientist N’Goran Kouame from the University of Abobo-Adjame.
Last seen in 1979, this beautiful frog with bright green – almost fluorescent looking – spots on a dark brown background, was rediscovered by Jos Kielgast from The Natural History Museum of Denmark.
The Cave Splayfoot Salamander (Chiropterotriton mosaueri), Hidalgo Province, Mexico, had not been seen since its initial discovery of a single individual in 1941. The pink footed, brown salamander is believed to live underground in cave systems. Sean Rovito from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, found some in a cave system that is only accessible by going down to it via a large pothole.
Conservation International worked with 600 amphibian specialists around the world to compile a list of species that hadn’t been seen in more than 10 years, then provided funding to 40 expeditions — mostly involving local researchers — to search for them.
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Loren Coleman no longer writes for Cryptomundo. His archived posts remain here at Cryptomundo.
This is exciting news. There has been a dramatic increase in the decline and extinction of amphibian species in recent years, so to be finding new ones, and in particular ones previously thought to be extinct that are still hanging on, is welcome news indeed.
Amphibian species tend to be a good barometer for the overall health of an ecosystem and their sudden decline can be seen as sort of like a canary in the mines, a harbinger of trouble within a habitat. The problems could be many; climate change, pollution, the impact of invasive species, however amphibian species are often the first to show the early negative effects. If the amphibians are still around, that tends to suggest that the ecosystem is still in generally good health.
I always welcome any new amphibian discoveries such as these because they mean that not only are the amphibians surviving, but the habitat as a whole is healthy.
Good stuff.