Thursday, September 11, 2008

Beautiful Frog Prince Rediscovered [PICTURE]

NVDL: These armoured mistfrogs not only have magical names, look at their 'frog prince' styled toes. Very handsome little fellas.

Now imagine if they disappeared forever.
clipped from news.yahoo.com
In this photo released by James Cook University, an armoured mistfrog is recently discovered in far north Queensland in this July 12, 2008 photo. The creatures had not been seen since 1991 and were thought to have been wiped out by a fungus. (AP Photo/James Cook University, Robert Puschendorf, HO)


SYDNEY, Australia - A tiny frog species thought by many experts to be extinct has been rediscovered alive and well in a remote area of Australia's tropical north, researchers said Thursday.

"It's very significant," Franklin said. "We've lost so many frog species in Australia ... Hopefully it's a population that's making a comeback."

The light brown frogs, with dark brown spots, congregate in areas with fast-flowing water. So far, between 30 and 40 have been found.

The chytrid fungus was blamed for decimating frog populations worldwide, including seven species in Queensland's tropics between the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Most of the Armoured Mistfrogs that Alford's group has found are infected with the fungus, but the disease does not appear to be making them sick, he said.

 blog it

No comments: