FROG finds

The discovery was bittersweet, however, as only four of the hundred ‘lost’ amphibians specifically sought during the August-through-December search for extinct species have been found.

Eleven more rediscoveries, including the elegant tropical frog, were ‘unexpected surprises,’ according to Conservation International, which co-led the 2010 project with the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Amphibian Specialist Group.

The unprecedented effort was most focused on finding ten species of high scientific and aesthetic value. Yet the ‘disappointing’ survey unearthed only one of those ten – Ecuador’s critically endangered Rio Pescado stubfoot toad.

“Rediscoveries provide reason for hope for these species, but the flip side of the coin is that the vast majority of species that teams were looking for were not found,” Robin Moore, an amphibian-conservation specialist for Conservation International, said in a statement.

The elegant tropical frog was discovered in 2010 during a separate search for lost amphibians in India, which had been inspired by the larger project. That campaign discovered five species thought extinct. The elegant, but little-studied, frog may be threatened by a proposed hydroelectric project in India’s diverse Western Ghats region, conservationists added.

The overall lack of rediscoveries during the recent campaign should “sound an urgent wake-up call for countries, and prompt coordinated efforts to prevent further declines in the populations” of amphibians, Moore said in a statement.

“This is a reminder that we are in the midst of what is being called the Sixth Great Extinction, with species disappearing at a hundred to a thousand times the historic rate—and amphibians are really at the forefront of this extinction wave.” More species surprises awaited scientists roaming Haiti’s shrinking forests. There, a team rediscovered six species not on the project’s list of a hundred “wanted” lost frog species.

The colorful Chalazodes bubble-nest frog, missing since 1874, was found recently in India. “I have never seen a frog with such brilliant colors in my 25 years of research,” SD Biju, of the University of Delhi, said in a statement.

“It has an unusual combination of fluorescent green dorsum, ash blue thighs, and patchy yellow eyes,” said Biju, who organized the Lost! Amphibians of India campaign to find 50 species thought to be extinct—an independent companion of the global Conservation International project.

The Indian campaign found five lost amphibian species in just a few months. “I feel assured that these rediscoveries will infuse more enthusiasm in our pursuit of the remaining 45 ‘lost’ amphibians” on the Indian group’s list, Biju said. “Our hunt has just begun, and it is a good start.”

Scooped out of a field station trash can in India, the Silent Valley tropical frog had last been seen about 30 years ago. An Indian team later found a few more specimens under leaf litter in forests within the Kunthi River watershed.

Overall, Conservation International’s Moore said, “we need to turn these discoveries and rediscoveries into an opportunity to stem the (extinction) crisis.” That means “focusing on protecting one of the most vulnerable groups of animals and their critical habitats.”- National Geographic