NEWS
CURRENT NEWS AND FACTS ABOUT AMPHIBIANS
January 11, 2011
Paedophryne amanuensis--can you pronounce it??i can't..:D
LSU's Chris Austin recently discovered two new species of frogs in New Guinea, one of of them now known as world's tiniest known vertebrate and FROG, averaging only 7.7 millimeters in size [less than one-third of an inch!] It beats the record of the Indonesian fish which averages more than 8 millimeters. Austin led a team from the US from LSU made the discovery during a three-month long expedition to the island of New Guinea, the world's largest and tallest tropical island.
The team had a hard time looking for this small vertebrate--"It was particularly difficult to locate Paedophryne amauensisdue to its diminutive size and the males' high pitched insect-like mating call," said Austin.
The second new frod species found is newly named Paedophryne swiftorum. It is only slightly larger than the first averaging only about 8.5 millimeters in body size.
Austin's work, supported by the National Science Foundation that highlights findings or discoveries of extremely small vertebrates.
IMPORTANCE OF THE DISCOVERIES:
"The size limit of vertebrates, or creatures with backbones, is of considerable interest to biologists because little is understood about the functional constraints that come with extreme body size, whether large or small," said Austin.
However, both new species of frogs Austin described are terrestrial, suggesting that living in water is not necessary for small body size.
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| WORLD'S SMALLEST VERTEBRATE AND FROG! |
Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (ARC) staff have recently been working with popular smartphone and tablet app developers Isoperla and the Amphibian and Reptile Groups in the UK to develop a new app for the iPhone and iPad devices.
The new app contains even more ID photos and updated information that will enable users to explore and identify the amphibians and reptiles of the British Isles.
Now, users can keep a log of reptile and amphibian sightings using the app and take a photograph too! Reptile and amphibian sightings provide important conservation information and this can be sent in real time to the ARG-UK Record Pool database automatically from the app. This information will be used to help conservation of our native species. So I say, get this app now..it's free anyway. Use this app when you see a frog, toad or something you've never seen before to help the scientists and whoever is behind all this and tell the world about your new discovery! Who knows..you might get famous! (O.O)
To find the app, type “Isoperla” or “HerptileId” into the search box in iTunes or the Apple App Store. Existing users can upgrade to the new app for free!
HELP SAVE THE WORLD OF AMPHIBIANS!DON'T BE STUPID!
- Amphibians around the world are disappearing. Recent estimates suggest that nearly one-third (32%) or about 2,000 species of this unique group of animals is threatened with extinction. Nearly 168 species are thought to have gone extinct in the last two decades. This happened due to strange fungi infections as well as increasing of land-use and climate change around the world(global warming), these trends are likely to worsen
- Based on current trends, half of all amphibians in Europe will be extinct by 2050
Timber Harvest Impacts Amphibians Differently During Life Stages
University of Missouri researchers found that removing all of the trees from a section of the forest had a negative effect on amphibians during their later life cycles, but had some positive effects during amphibians' aquatic larva stages at the beginning of their lives.Without shade over the pond, algae grew faster in direct sunlight and productivity in the pond increased. The larval amphibians ate the increased algae and grew larger and faster. However, this benefit was temporary; when amphibians left the pond, they were more likely to die.
When you remove all the trees from the forest, it has devastating effects on the amphibian population. Without a canopy above, open areas basically cook amphibians.
GLOBAL WARMING DIDN'T KILL THE GOLDEN FROGS
It was said that global warming did it but it actually wasn't. Because of the carbon-dioxide we make, there has been so much it led to the hot climates, etc. These conditions made the frog vulnerable to the chytrid fungus, which is thought to thrive in warmer, drier climates. Chytridiomycosis is a fatal skin disease that eventually causes convulsions, skin loss, and death in amphibian.
10 MOST WANTED LOST AMPHIBIANS!
#1 Golden Toad
COSTA RICA:Last seen 1989. Perhaps the most famous of the lost Amphibians. Went from abundant to extinct in a little over a year in the late 1980s.
#2 Gastric Brooding Frog
AUSTRALIA:Last seen 1985. They had unique mode of reproduction: Females swallowed eggs and raised tadpoles in the stomach. Gave birth to froglets through the mouth.
#3 Mesopotamia Beaked Toad
COLOMBIA:Last seen 1914. Fascinating frog with a distinctive pyramid-shaped head.
#4 Jackson’s Climbing Salamander
GUATEMALA:Last seen in 1975. Stunning black and yellow salamander – One of only two known specimens is believed to have been stolen from a Californian laboratory in the mid 1970s.
#5 African Painted Frog
Democratic Republic of Congo/Rwanda:Last seen 1950. Very little is known about this animal which is never thought to have been photographed.
#6 Rio Pescado Stubfoot Toad
ECUADOR:Last seen in April 1995. May well have been wiped-out by chytridiomycosis.
#7 Turkestanian Salamander
Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan or Uzbekistan: Last seen 1909. Known from only two specimens collected in 1909 somewhere between Pamir and Samarkand.
#8 Scarlet Frog
Venezuela: Last seen 1990. Known from a single stream in an isolated cloud forest.
#9 Hula Painted Frog
ISRAEL:Last seen 1955. A single adult collected in 1955 represents the last confirmed record of the species. Efforts to drain marshlands in Syria to eradicate malaria may have been responsible for the disappearance of this species.
#10 Sambas Stream Toad
Borneo (Indonesia and Malaysia). Last seen 1950s. Increased sedimentation in streams after logging may have contributed to the decline.
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