Monday, 11th  June 2012

New species of frog discovered

Researchers working in Central America have discovered a new species of frog on their travels through the jungles of Central America.
A few of the frogs were found by scientists working in the Cordillera Central mountain range, in the west of Panama, between May-August 2010.
The new species is a member of the Diasporus group of frogs. Its full scientific name is Diasporus citrinobapheus – the citrinobapheus part is made of the Greek words for yellow and dyer, because the researchers found that their fingers were dyed yellow after handling the tiny creatures.
The frog is only 2cm long and, although it makes a one-note call similar to its close relatives, its call is more like a whistle than the sounds made by other Diasporus frogs.
The scientists wrote about their discovery in the new edition of ZooKeys.