U of S team uncovers three new species of frogs
Deep in the Colombian jungle, University of Saskatchewan researchers discovered three new species of tiny, colourful poisonous dart frogs — but these species may already be at risk of extinction.
“Our finding is crucial to study life diversity,” said Jose Andres, a biology professor in the U of S College of Arts and Science, in a news release.
“Some species may disappear even before we have the chance to study them.”
Colombia is home to about 800 species of frogs, about 17 per cent of the world’s known frog species.
A 1976 study reported there were only two Oophaga dart frog species, Oophaga histrionica and Oophaga lehmanni.
However, new research techniques allowed researchers Jose Andres and Andres Posso-Terranova to use a more modern approach to identification, combining ecological information, the study of genetics, and morphology, or colour patterns.
In studying more than 300 dart frogs, they found the two existing species actually hid three more groups, for a total of five Oophaga species.
The three new species, which researchers named anchicayensis, andresi and solanensis, have genetic differences from the other groups, live only in certain areas of the northern and northwestern Colombian jungle, and have unique colour patterns and size.
The study’s findings were published in Molecular Ecology, and will provide evidence to Colombian policy-makers that could inform targeted conservation strategies for endangered frogs.
“The government has worked hard on developing conservation programs that have actually helped lehmanni frogs escape extinction,” Posso-Terranova said in a release. “This means conservation strategies work.”
At the time, in the Colombian government’s conservation list, Oophaga histrionica frogs were listed as a “least concern species,” while Oophaga lehmanni were considered “critically endangered.” According to Posso-Terranova, the only way for Colombia to include animals on the list of endangered species is by discovering new species.
“If we don’t know new species exist, how can we protect them? Naming and identifying new species is like currency for conservation policies,” he said.
The results of the study may also help with stopping the illegal pet trade, which often threatens the survival of dart frogs. With their bright colours and “dangerous” appeal, dart frogs are often sold on the international black market for more than $2,000 each.