Six new frog speices, one smaller than a coin, found in Mexico

A research team has recently found six of the world’s smallest frogs in Mexico, some of which are smaller than a coin, Daily Mail reported.

The tiny frogs were found in numerous habitats in Mexico and have been identified to be a different species recently because of their striking resemblance with other close relatives.

The scientists who discovered the species have classified them as endangered and have called for them to be better protected.

 

Dr Jeff Streicher, the senior curator for amphibians and reptiles at the Natural History Museum, was involved in describing the species.

He said that as part of a chapter in his PhD dissertation, he was working on these small, direct-developing frogs from Mexico.

He added, ‘My supervisor and I were interested in them because they are really abundant, whereas many frogs are quite hard to find.

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‘Despite this, taxonomists have not studied the group very much because they are very variable in their size and colouration, so it felt like a special challenge,’ he added.

‘As often happens, I had many different things I was working on, and this chapter of my PhD never quite got to where I wanted it to be.

He added, ‘Since beginning work at the museum, I found students who shared my passion for these frogs, and so finally, 12 years later, we’ve been able to make sense of some of the species’ relationships in this group.’

A total of 6 new species were discovered, bringing the total number of the Craugastor species in Mexico to 12.

The new species include C. bitonium, named after its two-tone colour pattern, along with others named for the local area.

Dr Streicher said, ‘It’s difficult to pick a favourite, but C. cueyatl stands out as it is named for an Aztec word for frog.’