Tag: frog species

A New Spiny Frog Discovered in the Ecuadorian Andes

This visually striking species emphasises the need for habitat protection in the Ecuadorian cloud forests.

A gruelling two-day trek into the remote upper Pastaza basin has revealed a new inhabitant of the Ecuadorian Andes: Pristimantis fergusoni. In a new study published in the open-access journal ZooKeys, a research team led by Juan Pablo Reyes-Puig of Fundación EcoMinga and the Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INABIO) has recently described this fascinating species of spiny frog.

Taxonomy and Fieldwork

Reyes-Puig discusses the primary motivations behind the team’s study:

“Due to its great diversity, Pristimantis is a genus that requires constant taxonomic work, especially in remote and little-studied areas. One such area is the upper Pastaza basin in the central Andes of Ecuador.

Although we have studied this region for almost two decades, each new exploration brings surprises, such as the case of the new Pristimantis fergusoni.”

This constant taxonomic revision stems from the sheer scale of the genus; frogs of the Pristimantis group currently comprise 626 species. Historically, limited scientific funding meant that many of these were described primarily on the basis of morphological evidence.

Fortunately, this has been increasingly remedied over the last decade as a growing community of taxonomists in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru combine molecular and morphological data to identify and classify new species.

However, carrying out fieldwork in these remote regions remains a formidable challenge. Reyes-Puig highlights the physical demands of conducting herpetological research in the upper montane forests of the eastern Ecuadorian Andes:

“First, it is quite challenging to reach the location after nearly two days of hiking. Then, the cold and almost constant humidity are physical limitations after fatigue, but observing a habitat untouched by humans and species never seen before, such as Pristimantis fergusoni, are a real reward.”

That reward is visually striking. While many frogs in the Pristimantis genus rely on camouflage to blend into the forest floor, P. fergusoni carries a distinct flash of color. The species exhibits notable sexual dimorphism: males are more muted, whereas females possess a bright scarlet belly.

Pristimantis fergusoni. (Photo credit: Juan Pablo Reyes Puig).

The exact reason for this vivid coloring remains a mystery, though Reyes-Puig notes a few plausible theories:

“Knowledge about the behavior and natural history of the new species is very limited, but we believe that the bright colors could serve for communication during courtship or as part of their reproductive strategies.”

Notably, this new species is named after Robert T. Ferguson II, an amateur naturalist who dedicated his life to protecting reptiles and amphibians. As a citizen scientist, Ferguson mapped wildlife in the US and helped fund the protection of rainforests in Latin America. Through his photography and work with groups like Rainforest Trust, he inspired others to care for the wild.

Pristimantis fergusoni. (Video credit: Juan Pablo Reyes Puig).

A Biodiversity Hotspot Under Pressure

The discovery of P. fergusoni is likely just the beginning, with the upper Pastaza basin serving as a taxonomic frontier where many more species await identification. Reyes-Puig estimates that at least eight more new species of amphibians are currently waiting to be described in this region alone.

For now, Pristimantis fergusoni is listed as “Data Deficient” by the IUCN because it has only been found in two locations close to one another – the Cerro Candelaria and Chamana Reserves – leaving scientists without the population data needed to determine its level of risk. However, the team is already working to ensure the frog’s future isn’t left to chance.

“Taxonomic work is usually limited to describing new species,” says Reyes-Puig. “We have gone a step further by ensuring the protection of the new species’ habitat through the declaration of protected areas.”

While this work happens on the ground in the Llanganates-Sangay Ecological Corridor, Reyes-Puig stresses that protecting these species requires global awareness. Climate change and habitat loss are universal threats to amphibians, and local conservation efforts rely on broader environmental responsibility: 

“Small actions such as recycling, waste management, and sustainable activities are important. We know that climate change is a problem that affects amphibians worldwide, but small actions [from the public] are also crucial.”

Pristimantis fergusoni. (Photo credit: Juan Pablo Reyes Puig).

The presence of P. fergusoni is a testament to the region’s immense biodiversity, and a reminder that in the underexplored Andes, discovery and conservation must move at the same urgent pace.

Original source:

Reyes-Puig JP, Yánez-Muñoz MH, Ron SR, Venegas PJ, Ortega J, Carrión-Olmedo JC, Reyes-Puig C (2026) A new spiny frog of the genus Pristimantis (Anura, Strabomantidae) from the eastern slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes. ZooKeys 1269: 83-105. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1269.162260

For more articles on zoology, visit the ZooKeys website and follow the journal on BlueSky and Facebook.

Convergence in the Canopy: Why the Gracixalus weii treefrog sounds like a songbird

A newly-described treefrog has exhibited a repertoire which mirrors the bird sounds of China’s Leigongshan Nature Reserve.

The genus Gracixalus belongs to the family of Old World Tree Frogs, and is geographically dispersed from Myanmar and western Thailand to Laos, Vietnam, and further to southern China. Despite the considerable number of research on the species richness of Gracixalus, little is known about their vocalisations.

To remedy this problem, the recently described Gracixalus weii in southwest China has been investigated from a bioacoustic standpoint by researchers led by Caichun Peng of the Guizhou Leigongshan Forest Ecosystem Observation and Research Station. 

Published in the open-access scholarly journal Herpetozoa, the study reveals an acoustic convergence between frog advertisement calls and avian communication systems – specifically, the call of Gracixalus weii is remarkably similar to a bird-like chirp commonly performed by the Black-Breasted Thrush (Turdus dissimilis) of the same region.

Similarities like these have frequently led researchers to underestimate frog populations during field surveys because their chirps are easily mistaken for local bird songs.

Adult male of Gracixalus weii from Leishan County, Guizhou Province. (Image credit: Peng et al.).

To the human ear, vocalisations in the Leigongshan Nature Reserve often sound like a melodious bird song because both the Gracixalus weii and Black-Breasted Thrush use a similar pattern: a longer introductory note, followed by two shorter notes, and almost identical pitches. This phenomenon provides evidence to suggest that the evolution of acoustic symbols in amphibians could be influenced by broad ecological interactions, including with that of birds. 

The history of observed similarities between frog and bird vocalisations can be traced further back; the acoustic convergence recorded in the Himalayan rapids in 1984 between frogs in the genus Nanorana and the bird Phylloscopius maginostrostris, for instance, underpins these recent findings.

Cases like these demonstrate that bioacoustic data adds value to species identification, particularly because advertisement calls serve as species-specific courtship signals that play an important role in evolutionary diversification.

Advertisement calls of the Gracixalus weii. A. 60 s oscillograms showing five calls of Gracixalus weii; B. 1 s oscillograms and corresponding spectrograms showing one type A call of G. weii; C. 1 s oscillograms and corresponding spectrograms showing one type B call of G. weii. (Image credit: Peng et al.).

For cryptic species that may appear identical, acoustic features also provide a reliable alternative to morphological or molecular diagnosis, offering clear evidence for taxonomic validity. Additionally, since many species are difficult to observe visually in dense habitats, such as frogs hiding within bamboo, relying on vocal signatures ensures that biodiversity is not misidentified during field surveys.

The authors argue that future research should focus on combining morphological, genetic, and bioacoustic evidence to better understand the species richness and cryptic diversity within the genus Gracixalus. A key priority is conducting experimental work, specifically playback or “replay experiments,” to observe how Gracixalus weii and the Black-breasted Thrush (Turdus dissimilis) respond to one another’s calls.

As such, the song of Gracixalus weii is a reminder that a familiar tune can be the perfect disguise for a species we are only just beginning to understand.

Original source:
Peng C, Shen T, Li S, Liu J, Ye R, Li D, Chen J, Tang X, Su H (2026) A bird-like vocalization in a treefrog (Anura, Rhacophoridae): Analysis of advertisement call characteristics in Gracixalus weii. Herpetozoa 39: 7-15. https://doi.org/10.3897/herpetozoa.39.e175324

For more articles on herpetology, visit the Herpetozoa website and follow the journal on BlueSky and Facebook.

‘Social distancing’ saves frogs: New approach to identify individual frogs noninvasively

aitik Patel and Dr Abhijit Das of the Wildlife Institute of India came up with one of the very first non-invasive approaches to identify individual frogs using photos from their natural habitats, which are then processed with the animal recognition software HotSpotter. Their unique method is described in the open-access, peer-reviewed scientific journal Herpetozoa.

A Beautiful stream frog (Amolops formosus) in a Himalayan torrent stream
Photo by Naitik Patel

Globally, 41% amphibian species are regarded as threatened with extinction. However, when it comes to the case of India, the majority of the species falls in the Data Deficient group, according to the criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature‘s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

This means that we hardly have any population data for Indian amphibians, which leads to a serious conservation bottleneck, especially when you are dealing with elusive herpiles. Therefore, there is the pressing priority to obtain demographic trends to prompt and support conservation actions for endemic and habitat-dependent species.

While demographics of natural populations is best estimated with the mark-recapture technique, used in animals, where individuals have distinct body markings, such as the stripes in a tiger, the dots in a whale shark and the fingerprints in a human. In the meantime, while frogs are well known for their individual-specific markings and colour patterns, this kind of technique has never been used in amphibians, even though they have long been recognised as some of the most vulnerable animals on Earth.

On the other hand, it is hardly possible to capture and mark individual frogs in the wild. So, Naitik Patel and Dr Abhijit Das of the Wildlife Institute of India came up with one of the very first non-invasive approaches to identify individual frogs using photos from their natural habitats, which are then processed with the animal recognition software HotSpotter. Their unique method is described in the open-access, peer-reviewed scientific journal Herpetozoa.

“Capturing each frog is not possible in the field, so to address this problem, we conducted a short study on Beautiful stream frogs (Amolops formosus), a species that, just like many other amphibians, has variable body markings amongst individuals. As this species inhabits the Himalayan torrent stream, which is difficult to access, we tried our best to photograph each frog from a distance to avoid any kind of physical contact,”

explains Naitik Patel, a PhD student at the Wildlife Institute of India.

A Beautiful stream frog (Amolops formosus)
Photo by Abhijit Das

Having concluded their study with a success rate of 94.3%, the research team is hopeful that their protocol could be effectively implemented in rapid population estimation for many endangered species of frogs.

“We conducted photographic documentation to capture the unique markings of each frog, and then compared them, using computer-assisted individual identification. With this method, the number of individuals can be counted to estimate the population structure. This study is exceptional, owing to the minimal disturbance it causes to the frogs. Such a technique has rarely been tried on amphibians and is a promising method to estimate their numbers. It can also be used in citizen science projects,”

comments senior scientist Dr Abhijit Das.

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Original source:

Patel NG, Das A (2020) Shot the spots: A reliable field method for individual identification of Amolops formosus (Anura, Ranidae). Herpetozoa 33: 7-15. https://doi.org/10.3897/herpetozoa.33.e47279

Extraordinary treefrog discovered in the Andes of Ecuador

An adult of the newly described species, Hyloscirtus hillisi. Photo by Gustavo Pazmiño, BIOWEB Ecuador.

A new treefrog species was discovered during a two-week expedition to a remote tabletop mountain at Cordillera del Cóndor, a largely unexplored range in the eastern Andes.

“To reach the tabletop, we walked two days along a steep terrain. Then, between sweat and exhaustion, we arrived to the tabletop where we found a dwarf forest. The rivers had blackwater and the frogs were sitting along them, on branches of brown shrubs similar in color to the frogs’ own. The frogs were difficult to find, because they blended with their background,” Alex Achig, one of the field biologists who discovered the new species comments on the hardships of the expedition.

Curiously, the frog has an extraordinary, enlarged claw-like structure located at the base of the thumb. Its function is unknown, but it could be that it is used either as a defence against predators or as a weapon in fights between competing males.

Having conducted analyses of genetic and morphologic data, scientists Santiago R. Ron, Marcel Caminer, Andrea Varela, and Diego Almeida from the Catholic University of Ecuador concluded that the frog represented a previously unknown species. It was recently described in the open-access journal ZooKeys.

Unlike other frogs, the new species has a claw at the base of the thumb. Photo by Gustavo Pazmiño, BIOWEB Ecuador.

The species name, Hyloscirtus hillisi, honors Dr. David Hillis, a member of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, who discovered three closely related frog species in the same genus in the 1980s, while conducting a series of field trips to the Andes of southern Ecuador. Throughout his career, Dr. Hillis has made significant contributions to the knowledge of Andean amphibians and reptiles.

Despite being newly described, Hyloscirtus hillisi is already at risk of extinction. It has a small distribution range near a large-scale mining operation carried out by a Chinese company. Habitat destruction in the region has been recently documented by the NGO Amazon Conservation.

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Original source:

Ron SR, Caminer MA, Varela-Jaramillo A, Almeida-Reinoso D (2018) A new treefrog from Cordillera del Cóndor with comments on the biogeographic affinity between Cordillera del Cóndor and the Guianan Tepuis (Anura, Hylidae, Hyloscirtus). ZooKeys 809: 97-124. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.809.25207

A metamorph of the new species, Hyloscirtus hillisi. Photo by Darwin Núñez, BIOWEB Ecuador.

New species of frog from the Neotropics carries its heart on its skin

In the Neotropics, there is a whole group of so-called glassfrogs that amaze with their transparent skin covering their bellies and showing their organs underneath. A recently discovered new species from Amazonian Ecuador, however, goes a step further to fully expose its heart thanks to the transparent skin stretching all over its chest as well as tummy.

The new amphibian is described by a team of scientists led by Dr. Juan M. Guayasamin, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador, in the open access journal ZooKeys.

It can also be distinguished by the relatively large dark green spots at the back of its head and the foremost part of the body. Additionally, the species has a characteristic long call.

The new frog is named Hyalinobatrachium yaku, where the species name (yaku) translates to ‘water’ in the local language Kichwa. Water and, more specifically, slow-flowing streams are crucial for the reproduction of all known glassfrogs.

The reproductive behaviour is also quite unusual in this species. Males are often reported to call from the underside of leaves and look after the egg clutches.

Having identified individuals of the new species at three localities, the researchers note some behavioural differences between the populations. Two of them, spotted in the riverine vegetation of an intact forest in Kallana, have been calling from the underside of leaves a few metres above slow-flowing, relatively narrow and shallow streams. Another frog of the species has been observed in an area covered by secondary forests in the Ecuadorian village of Ahuano. Similarly, the amphibian was found on the underside of a leaf one metre above a slow-flowing, narrow and shallow stream.

oo_135330However, at the third locality – a disturbed secondary forest in San José de Payamino – the studied frogs have been perching on leaves of small shrubs, ferns, and grasses some 30 to 150 cm above the ground. Surprisingly, each of them has been at a distance greater than 30 metres from the nearest stream.

The researchers note that, given the geographic distance of approximately 110 km between the localities where the new species has been found, it is likely that the new species has a broader distribution, including areas in neighbouring Peru.

The uncertainty about its distributional range comes from a number of reasons. Firstly, the species’ tiny size of about 2 cm makes it tough to spot from underneath the leaves. Then, even if specimens of the species have been previously collected, they would be almost impossible to identify from museum collection, as many of the characteristic traits, such as the dark green marks, are getting lost after preservation. This is why the conservation status of the species has been listed as Data Deficient, according to the IUCN Red List criteria.

Nevertheless, the scientists identify the major threats to the species, including oil extraction in the region and the related water pollution, road development, habitat degradation and isolation.

“Glassfrogs presumably require continuous tracts of forest to interact with nearby populations, and roads potentially act as barriers to dispersal for transient individuals,” explain the authors.

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Original source:

Guayasamin JM, Cisneros-Heredia DF, Maynard RJ, Lynch RL, Culebras J, Hamilton PS (2017) A marvelous new glassfrog (Centrolenidae, Hyalinobatrachium) from Amazonian Ecuador. ZooKeys 673: 1-20. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.673.12108