If there’s news about amphibians these days, odds are it’s not going to be good.
If there’s news about amphibians these days, odds are it’s not going to be good. A pathogenic fungus has been decimating populations around the world for about forty years and counting, pushing many species to extinction. And once a species is classified as extinct, odds are it isn’t coming back.
That’s why researchers have been stunned to see one genus — Atelopus or harlequin frogs — defying the odds. Now, new research from ecologists at Michigan State University and collaborators in Ecuador is setting the stage for an unprecedented underdog story — or, if you will, an underfrog story.
With a combination of literature review and fieldwork, the team has shown that as many as 32 harlequin frog species, once thought to be possibly extinct, are still surviving in the wild.
Read more at: Michigan State University
Michigan State University doctoral student Kyle Jaynes shines a light on a harlequin frog rediscoveries in Ecuador. (Photo Credit: Alex Achig-Vega)
