Tag archives for Frogs
Posted by Scientists identified one of the world’s smallest frogs on Wednesday. The itty-bitty Microhyla nepenthicola is a frog that is only found in Borneo. When fully grown, the frog is the size of a pea (the frog in the picture above is a juvenile). Although the species was recently identified, people have been spotting the tiny amphibian for a long time. “I saw some specimens in museum collections that are over a hundred years old,” co-discoverer Indraneil Das said. Das thinks that scientists may have thought the frogs were younger versions of other, larger species.
Learn more about this tiny find on National Geographic News.
Play Frog Flicker on National Geographic Kids!
Photograph courtesy Indraneil Das, Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation
Scientists at the San Diego Zoo’s Institute for Conservation Research recently did something unusual with 24 endangered mountain yellow-legged frogs. They put them in refrigerators! It may sound like a punchline, but the scientists refrigerated the frogs to encourage them to breed. “The cold temperatures mimic high-elevation winter conditions that cause the frogs to hibernate. Typically, mountain yellow-legged frogs display mating behaviors after emerging from hibernation,” said a statement from the zoo.
The frogs went into the refrigerators on January 1, 2010. The scientists are planning to move them to a breeding area in the lab at the beginning of April.
Read more about the frosty frogs on the NatGeo News Watch blog.
Spring peepers are a sign of spring! Why are they so noisy? Find out on National Geographic Kids.
Watch a video of leopard frogs on National Geographic Kids.
Photograph by Adam Backlin, U.S. Geological Survey
Photograph by Jessica Deichmann, courtesy Conservation International
Tadpole-toting frogs (seen above), lungless salamanders, and spiny katydids are some of the new species found on a recent conservation expedition to the mountainous Nangaritza region of Ecuador. Scientists hope that the discoveries will result in protection of their habitat by the Ecuadorian government, according to Conservation International.
See pictures of the new discoveries on National Geographic News.
See rainforest pictures on National Geographic Kids.
