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Search begins for the world's 'lost frogs'

Wednesday 11th August 2010

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Golden toad overview

Set to take place on an unprecedented scale, an ambitious hunt for some of the worlds rarest, most threatened and quite possibly extinct amphibians has begun. Scientists in more than 14 countries are endeavouring to survey sites around the world, in the hope of rediscovering lost species, as well as those that continue to sit precariously on the brink of extinction.

Expedition teams are searching for around 40 species of amphibian, including a variety of frogs, toads and salamanders from remote corners of the world, that haven’t been seen for over a decade, or in many cases, much longer.

Southern gastric-brooding frog
Southern gastric-brooding frog

The list of target species includes the enigmatic golden toad (Incilius periglenes), which mysteriously and rapidly disappeared from Costa Rica in the 1980’s. A fungal disease is attributed as the reason for the disastrous decline, and the species is now believed to be extinct. Also topping the campaign list are gastric brooding frogs, such as the Southern gastric-brooding frog (Rheobatrachus silus), an Australian species with the bizarre ability to raise its young inside its stomach. This species was first discovered in 1973, but, less than a decade later, it appeared to vanish completely from the wild.

Israel painted frog
Hula painted frog

Also among the other species that scientists hope to track down are the Hula painted frog (Discoglossus nigriventer), which has not been seen since 1955, and the African painted frog, a species for which no photograph is thought to exist, and which has not been recorded in the wild since 1950.

One third of amphibians are currently at risk of extinction, and over half of the known species have declining populations, with these numbers likely to rise in the future. Habitat loss, climate change and disease are all cited as serious threats to amphibian populations. Because many species have very small, restricted ranges, loss of habitat is critical, and its destruction is capable of rapidly wiping out whole populations. Disease can have a similar effect. The catastrophic fungal disease, chytridiomycosis, has had a devastating effect on many amphibians worldwide, causing massive population crashes from which some species never recover. Currently, there is no way of preventing the spread of this disease in the wild.

Very little data exists about the status of many of the worlds most threatened amphibian species. Often, scientists do not know how many individuals of a species are left, or even whether or not the species still exists. This high-profile search, coordinated for the Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG) by Dr Robin Moore of Conservation International (CI), hopes to gather vital information on the worlds most threatened amphibians to help tackle the escalating extinction crisis, as well as presenting scientists with the exciting opportunity to try and rediscover some of the worlds ‘lost’ species.

To find out more about the campaign, and to follow the progress of the amphibian expedition team, see:

Explore more amphibian species on ARKive



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