Comments on: Incredibly Tiny Frog Discovered

By: Maine Crypto

Maine Crypto — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 01:34:50 +0000

It is always great to hear about new species being discovered!
Today in my pre-k classroom, the other teacher brought in a very tiny frog for the kids to look at for a few hours before we let it go. It is wonderful to think that they are the future for these new species and all the rest to come, I hope that I can help foster a respect for science and all related fields in them!

By: sausage1

sausage1 — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 00:18:07 +0000

Has anyone said ‘guy in a very small frog suit’ yet?

No?

Good.

By: bill green

bill green — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 23:24:25 +0000

hey loren very interesting article about tiny frogs. thanks bill green

By: sschaper

sschaper — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 21:09:25 +0000

We know now that the horrible mutations are due to a world-wide fungal infection attacking amphibians, not due to pesticides or other ways of blaming humans, though the initial assumption was that it just -had- to be us.

That frog is the same size as the toads that emerge from the tadpole stage all over the place around here. I guess that they must not grow once they finish the change? It just doesn’t seem incredibly small to me because the toads are so common.

By: red_pill_junkie

red_pill_junkie — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 20:22:32 +0000

Indeed mistery_man, those horrible mutations found on frogs that are the result of pesticides in the environment are a strong marker of the pollution levels in their ecosystem. We should consider our amphibian friends as the canary kept by the miners of the past. If they disappear entirely sooner or later we’ll be next.

By: Late Night Visitor

Late Night Visitor — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 20:18:52 +0000

That’s unfrog-ettable news! Toadily cool!

…Sorry, just a little jumpy today. Oh well that is good news, dont want the environment to degrade enough that these things croak.

By: joe levit

joe levit — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 19:12:21 +0000

I’ve got a five-rupee coin right here with me (Wife from Bangalore) and it is slightly larger than our nickel.

By: DARHOP

DARHOP — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 16:16:33 +0000

Wow! That frog is even smaller than the pygmy frog. Kool!

By: Ceroill

Ceroill — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 15:57:30 +0000

Nifty! Thanks for letting us know about this, Loren! One more discovery that brings to mine one of my favorite quotes from Ambrose Bierce: “There is nothing new under the sun but there are lots of old things we don’t know.”

By: mystery_man

mystery_man — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:29:20 +0000

It is reassuring that there are tiny frogs like this still being found. Frogs are extremely sensitive to changes in the environment or pollution and scientists often look to the native frogs and other amphibians to gauge the health of the ecosystem of the area. The sudden decline or die off of frogs in a habitat can mean that something is seriously wrong, and can be a precursor to what is coming. Amphibians in general are facing extinctions at an unusual rate throughout the world due to pollution, climate change and other negative environmental factors. The fact that these small frogs are there to be discovered is likely a good indication that this forest habitat is reasonably healthy.