Thursday 26 August 2010

'Micro Kermit' discovered in Borneo

Meet the smallest frog on the block - a tiny pea-sized amphibian discovered recently in deepest, darkest Borneo.
The new discovery - the smallest found in Asia, Africa or Europe - has been named Microhyla nepenthicola after the plant on which it lives, according to taxonomy magazine Zootaxa.
The pea-sized frog had originally been mis-identified in museums, according to Dr Indraneil Das of the Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation at the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. He stated: 'Scientists presumably thought they were juveniles of other species, but it turns out they are adults of this newly-discovered micro species."
The micro-frogs were found on the edge of a road in the Kubah National Park.
Scientists managed to track down the tiny critter by their call - a series of 'harsh rasping notes' that began at sunset.
The discovery was part of a global effort undertaken by the Conservation International and International Union for Conservation of Nature's Amphibian Specialist Group to 'rediscover' 100 lost amphibians.
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/from-the-land-of-the-lost-meet-micro-kermit-20100826-13tje.html

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