We’ve been preoccupied with the Gulf Oil Spill the last few weeks and are behind on the latest amphibians news. Here are a couple of stories to bring you up to date. Thanks, Gail and Rafi, for letting us know about these frog stories!
Greek Frogs on the Move
This past week a million frogs swarmed across the Egnatia highway near the town of Langadas, some 12 miles (20 kilometers) east of Greece’s second largest city, Thessaloniki.
According to Giorgos Thanoglou, chief of traffic police in Thessaloniki, a section of the road was closed after three cars skidded off the road when the drivers tried to dodge the frogs.
Why did millions of frogs cross the road? They were probably hungry. They have been migrating from a nearby lake to look for food.
Pinocchio the Frog
A Pinocchio-nosed frog is among the newly identified species discovered during an recent expedition to Indonesia’s remote Foja Mountains.
The long-nosed frog, a tree frog, was discovered by accident. It hopped into the researchers’ campsite where herpetologist Paul Olivertree found it sitting on a bag of rice. The frog has a long spike on its nose that points upward when the male is calling but deflates and points downward when he is less active.
In addition to the pinocchio-nosed frog and other unique species such as a gargoyle-faced gecko and the world’s smallest wallaby, the researchers also found innumerable bird species, including a giant northern cassowary (a large flightless bird with a helmet that resembles a dinosaur), birds of paradise, parrots, cockatoos, lorikeets, and hornbills.
This area of the rainforest in the Foja Mountains is so isolated that even forest-dwelling people haven’t ventured there. “As a result, wildlife was abundant and unwary,” says Bruce Beehler, a senior research scientist at Conservation International, in a dispatch from the field, as reported in a Christian Science Monitor article. “The dawn chorus of birdsong and the rattle of katydids were deafening. There is nothing like it!”
Researchers with Conservation International and the National Geographic Society hope the documentation of such unique, endemic biodiversity will encourage the government of Indonesia to bolster long-term protection of the area, which is classified as a national wildlife sanctuary.
You can see the Pinocchio-frog and the other newly discovered species in this slide show and on the National Geographic site.
We find the stories of newly discovered Lost Worlds fascinating and hope they inspire people to protect these last vestiges of pristine rainforest, areas of awe-inspiring biodiversity.
Have we missed any other interesting amphibian stories? If so, please don’t hesitate to send them on to us!
