Researchers discovered two frog species in Ecuador and named one in honor of Prince Charles.
Two previously unknown frog species were found in the highly endangered cloud forests of Ecuador.
One species was named Hyloscirtus princecharlesi, in honor of Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, for the royal’s work to preserve tropical forests. The second species is called Hyloscirtus cryptico.
Hyloscirtus princecharlesi was first identified by Luis A. Coloma, an Ecuadorian scientist. In 2009 he collected specimen in the wild at Reserva Las Gralarias, a private nature reserve.
Both species live in montane forest streams, a habitat that has been particularly affected by the chytrid fungus epidemic.
The chytrid fungus epidemic has killed untold numbers of amphibians globally and driven dozens of species to extinction since the early 1980s.
Amphibians are at great risk globally due to habitat loss, introduced diseases like the chytrid fungus, over-harvesting, the effects of climate change, pollution, and invasive species.
More than two out of every five amphibians assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) are considered threatened.
CITATION: LUIS A. COLOMA at al. Molecular phylogenetics of stream treefrogs of the Hyloscirtus larinopygion group (Anura: Hylidae), and description of two new species from Ecuador. Zootaxa 3364: 1–78 (2012) www.mapress.com/zootaxa/
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