NEW SPECIES of frog is also the smallest-known vertebrate

Posted on January 13, 2012

An unusual species of frog, Paedophryne amauensis, was discovered in Papua New Guinea during biodiversity surveys. In the video below, Chris Austin gives an interesting account of how the diminutive frog was discovered. More via National Geographic:

At an average of 7.7 millimeters long, the newfound Paedophryne amauensis is a hair smaller than the previous record holder, the Southeast Asian fish species Paedocypris progenetica, whose females measure about 7.9 millimeters.

During recent field surveys in southern Papua New Guinea, scientists found P. amauensis and another new species of tiny frog, Paedophryne swiftorum, which measures about 8.6 millimeters.

“I think it’s amazing that they’re continuing to find smaller and smaller frogs,” said Robin Moore, an amphibian expert with Conservation International, who was not involved in the study.

CAN YOU SEE ME? | ANIMAL CAMOUFLAGE

Posted on January 9, 2012

A black-marble jawfish (Stalix histrio) camouflages itself against a mimic octopus (Thaumoctopus mimicus). According to LiveScience, the behavior of these jawfishes is unique:

“All jawfish are really specialized for living in burrows,” said researcher Luiz Rocha, an ichthyologist at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. “They’re almost never found outside their burrows.”

If it is difficult to find the fish in the image above, then perhaps it is easier to find in this video:

See more animal camouflage here on The Conservation Report.

CAN YOU SEE ME? | ANIMAL CAMOUFLAGE

Posted on January 3, 2012

This hidden, camouflaged animal is probably easy for most viewers to find, but the viper represents a newly-described species that was discovered during biodiversity surveys in a Tanzanian forest. However, the viper’s existence is already threatened due to the diminutive size of its remaining-forest habitat. It’s thought “that 150-200 species of plant, insect, bird and mammal become extinct every 24 hours.” The vast majority of those forever-lost species are certainly unknown to science. More via National Geographic:

The “beautiful, heavy-bodied bush viper” sports black and yellow zigzag markings and yellow, hornlike scales above its olive-colored eyes, Tim Davenport, the Wildlife Conservation Society’s country director for Tanzania, said in an email.

But few would be envious of this green-eyed creature’s rare status. Its forest habitat, already smaller than about 40 square miles (a hundred square kilometers), is declining due to human development and other factors, said Davenport, whose group made the joint discovery with the Science Museum of Trento, Italy.

Considering this, Davenport suspects the snake—described December 6 in the journal Zootaxa—will be listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

See more animal camouflage here on The Conservation Report.

REDISCOVERED SPECIES: Camera trap captures image of endangered Persian leopard in Afghanistan

Posted on December 7, 2011

Image via the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Afghanistan Program

The Persian leopard (Panthera pardus ciscaucasica) was “long thought to have disappeared from” Afghanistan. However, a camera trap captured an image of one cat, which suggests that a breeding population may still occur in parts of the war-torn country. More via National Geographic:

The newly released photographs, taken in the fall, include this September shot of an adult leopard investigating the camera, “appearing to threaten it with canines exposed,” according to the Wildlife Conservation Society, which helped set up the camera traps. The images are “indisputable proof” that the big cat is hanging on in the region, the group said.

Via io9