Frog Without Lungs Found in Indonesia

Exerpt from original article by:

MICHAEL CASEY, AP Environmental Writer
Thursday, April 10, 2008
(04-10) 05:43 PDT BANGKOK, Thailand (AP)

A frog has been found in a remote part of Indonesia that has no lungs and breathes through its skin, a discovery that researchers said Thursday could provide insight into what drives evolution in certain species.
[...]
“These are about the most ancient and bizarre frogs you can get on the planet,” Bickford said of the brown amphibian with bulging eyes and a tendency to flatten itself as it glides across the water.

“They are like a squished version of Jabba the Hutt,” he said, referring to the character from Star Wars. “They are flat and have eyes that float above the water. They have skin flaps coming off their arms and legs.”

Along with the lungless frog, Bickford said his team discovered two new lizard species and four other species of frogs during their two-month trip.

Read full article at The San Francisco Chronicle online.

New Snake, Butterfly, and 9 Others Found in Vietnam

The tropical forests of Vietnam are throwing open their secrets, as scientists discover 11 new species including two types of butterfly and a snake.

The species, which also include five orchids and three other plants, are exclusive to the remote area in the centre of the country known as the “Green Corridor”, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) charity said.

A further 10 kinds of plant, including four orchids, are still being examined but are thought to be new species.

The WWF said the animals and plants, found in forests in the Annamites Mountains of Thua Thien Hue province where several mammal species were discovered in the 1990s, could represent the “tip of the iceberg” of new species.

Find the original article at the Daily Mail.

Six New Species Found in Africa!

By Charles Q. Choi,
Special to LiveScience
posted: 07 August 2007
03:32 pm ET

In a once-lost forest in Africa, six animal species new to science have been discovered, members of a two-month expedition now reveal, including a bat, a rodent, two shrews and two frogs.

“If we can find six new species in such a short period, it makes you wonder what else is out there,” said Wildlife Conservation Society researcher Andrew Plumptre.

Read the entire article at LiveScience.com

New Golden Frog Discovered In Remote Region Of Colombia

“Science Daily — A new poisonous frog was recently discovered in a remote mountainous region in Colombia by a team of young scientists supported by the Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP). The new frog, which is almost two centimetres in length, was given the name the “golden frog of Supatá.”"

Rad the entire article at ScienceDaily.com

24 New Species Found by Rapid Assessment Program

Article from: AdelaideNow
June 05, 2007 05:00pm
“SCIENTISTS say they have found two dozen new species in an expedition into a remote part of South America.

The Associated Press reported that an expedition by 13 scientists into the remote plateaus of eastern Suriname had turned up 24 new species, including a frog with fluorescent purple markings.

The expedition led by Conservation International discovered the species in 2005 in rainforests and swamps about 130 kilometers southeast of Paramaribo, the capital of the South American country bordering Brazil, Guyana and French Guiana.

Among the newly discovered species were the Atelopus frog, which has distinctive purple markings; six types of fish; 12 dung beetles, and one ant species… “

Above: Amazonian Snail-Eater Snake
—–

*Note: Aquarium enthusiasts will be interested in the discovery of several suckermouth catfish- at least 3 new species- one of which has a particularly large mouth, and another that is fond of RED algae… not to mention the appearance of the Armored catfish, which was believed to be extinct.

The original article (above) from AdelaideNow includes several pictures.
The Conservation International website has the full pdf file of the R.A.P. report.
The ABC News website has more pics- also high res.
Telegraph.co.uk has more pics- including some not on the previous sites.
Mongabay.com has a great article with more information.

New Legless Lizard Found

May 28, 2007

The 7-inch (18-centimeter) creature is not a serpent at all, but actually a completely new species of limbless lizard, said Sushil Kumar Dutta of North Orissa University.

“The lizard is new to science and is an important discovery. It is not found anywhere else in the world,” Dutta told the Associated Press.

Excerpts from original article by Aalok Mehta.
Read the full article at National Geographic Online.

Fossils of New Species Found Under Ping-Pong Table!

Canadian researchers have found a new species (and genus) of ichthyosaur—a type of fishlike reptile that lived between 250 and 90 million years ago.

They found it under a Ping-Pong table.

Researchers at Edmonton’s University of Alberta made the discovery when they came across a long-forgotten box of fossils in an undergraduate science lab.

Officially named Maiaspondylus lindoei, and dubbed the Ping Pong Ichthyosaur, the intrepid fossil-hunters are being pragmatic about the find:
“It was pretty amazing to realize this valuable discovery had sat under a ping pong table for 25 years,” said Dr. Michael Caldwell, paleontologist at the U of A. “But I suppose that after 100 millions of years in the dirt, it’s all relative.”

The bones belong to two juvenile ichthyosaurs, one slightly larger than the other, and two adults, one of which has two embryos preserved near its vertebrae.

The embryos found with the specimens are by far the newest known—80 million years more recent than the oldest previously known ichthyosaur embryos.

“What was really interesting was that at this point in history the Ichthyosaur goes extinct,” said Caldwell. “So anything from this time is going to be really important.”

Find the entire article at ScienceDaily.com

Find another article at NationalGeographic.com

Found! 40 New Species in Virgin Brazil Rainforest

Excerpts from
article
by Lewis Smith,
Times Environment Reporter

 

“Up to 40 new species of plants and animals, including a bird and a tree rat, have been discovered in an expedition to one of the world’s last unspoilt wildernesses.

Researchers were particularly excited by the bird and the tree rat because new mammal and avian species are extremely rare. The discoveries have yet to be verified by peer review but Enrico Bernard, of Conservation International, is confident that 27 new species have been identified and that several more are contained among the thousands of specimens brought back for analysis.

Besides the rat and the bird, the new species found include seven fish, eight frogs, lizards and snakes, two
shrimps and eight plants.
One species of lizard, Amapafaurus petrabactulus, was rediscovered having been seen only twice before, both times in 1970. The lizard is unusual in having four fingers on its claws, whereas it closest relative has three.

“We have confirmed more than 1,700 species, of which more than 100 have been recorded for Amapá for the first time. Perhaps 40 of those are entirely new to science.

Among the creatures already known that were found in the region for the first time were 40 types of bat. Dr Enrico thought this if anything an underestimate. “There are potentially more than 100,” he added.The tree rat, from the genus makalata and the size of a large guinea-pig, lives with monkeys in the trees of the Amazonian tropical forest, where it eats only leaves and fruit.

The authorities in Brazil this week announced that 5.7 million hectares of the region is to be protected as the Amapá State Forest.”

Read the Full Aritcle at Times Online.

Thanks to Nutmeg for the scoop.

Brazil Yields Several New Species, and Surprises!

Scientists on a WWF expedition discovered two new frog, fish and bird species, one tree species and one primate.

“These are exciting discoveries,” said Claudio Maretti, WWF-Brazil’s Coordinator for Protected Areas.

“But to confirm that the species are really new to science we have to carry out a series of tests,” he cautioned. “This will be done as soon as the expedition comes to a close.”

In addition to these potentially new scientific discoveries, experts on the expedition came across 200 species of birds, ocelots (wild cats), and a pink dolphin.

Original full length article here…

Read expedition logs and other articles from the expedition at the WWF homepage for the Juruena National Park.

“Lost World” of New Species Found in Indonesia

“During a 15-day stay at a camp they had cut out of the jungle, the conservationists found a trove of animals never before documented…

The golden-mantled tree kangaroo (pictured above) is just one of dozens of species discovered in late 2005 by a team of Indonesian, Australian, and U.S. scientists on the island of New Guinea.

The animal is the rarest arboreal, jungle-dwelling kangaroo in the world, the researchers say.

.. Within minutes of landing, the scientists encountered a bizarre, orange-faced honeyeater bird. It proved to be a new bird species, the first discovered in New Guinea since 1939.

…A botanical team collected more than 550 plant species, including at least five previously unknown woody plant species. Entomologists encountered more than 150 insect species, including four new ones.

…Reptile experts documented 60 different kinds of frogs, including more than 20 new species. Including a tiny frog less than 14 millimeters (0.6 inch) long.”

Find the full National Geographic article with lots more info- and photos of some of the newly discovered animals here.

New Species Surveyed in Tanzanian Mountains

WWF | Newsroom

First Field Surveys of Tanzanian Mountains Reveal over 160 Animal Species, including New and Endemic Species
For Release: 06/22/2006
WASHINGTON — The first field surveys of the Rubeho Mountains in Tanzania revealed over 160 animal species — including a new species of frog and eleven endemic species — according to an article published in the African Journal of Ecology this month. The findings elevate the importance of protecting this biologically-rich wilderness area and the broader Eastern Arc Mountain range from destructive activities underway such as clear-cutting for agriculture, logging and poaching.

More…

Newly Discovered Chameleon Snake

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Snake displays changing colours

Snake displays changing colours
A snake with the ability to change its colour has been found in the rainforested heart of Borneo.

Researchers from Germany and the US discovered the water snake’s chameleon-like behaviour by accident when they put it into a dark bucket.

The environmental group WWF, which supports conservation work in Borneo, says wildlife in the region is threatened by deforestation.

It believes the newly described snake may exist only in one river basin.

Found in the Kapuas river in the Betung Kerihun National Park in Kalimantan (the Indonesian portion of Borneo), it belongs to the Enhydris genus of rear-fanged water snakes and has been named E. gyii.

It is about 50cm (18 inches) long, and venomous.

More…

Another article, with additional information, from NewScientist.com can be found here.