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The Macaya burrowing frog is just one of the species that has been rediscovered through Conservation International's Search for Lost Frogs expeditions. Photo © Robin Moore/iLCP. |
Six frog species have been rediscovered in the tropical forests of Haiti. The expedition that rediscovered these amphibians, a part of the Search for Lost Frogs project, was completed by scientists from Conservation International (CI) and the Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG) of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
According to CI, the original purpose of the expedition to the remote mountains of southern Haiti was to rediscover the La Selle grass frog (Eleutherodactylus glanduliferoides), which has not been seen in more than 25 years, and to assess the status of several of the country's 48 other species of native amphibians.
The scientists rediscovered these six frog species, which are all listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN:
- Hispaniolan crowned frog (E. corona): Last seen in 1991, the Hispaniolan crowned frog is an arboreal species found in high-elevation cloud forests and is named after a row of protuberances resembling a crown on the back of its head, according to CI.
- Hispaniolan ventriloquial frog (E. dolomedes): Last seen in 1991, this frog is named after its unusual call, which projects like a ventriloquist, according to CI.
- La Hotte glanded frog (E. glandulifer): Last seen in 1991, the La Hotte glanded frog has striking blue eyes, according to CI.
- Macaya breast-spot frog (E. thorectes): Last seen in 1991, this frog occurs only on the peaks of Formon and Macaya at high elevations on the Massif de la Hotte in Haiti. With a maximum length of 15.1 millimeters, it is one the smallest frogs in the world, according to CI.
- Macaya burrowing frog (E. parapelates): According to CI, the species was never before recorded in the area the scientists found it in. It was last seen in 1996.
- Mozart's frog (E. amadeus): Last seen in 1991, the Mozart's frog -- so named because of it's call's resemblance to musical notes -- reaches maximum lengths of 25mm, according to CI.
Due to deforestation, Haiti has less than 2 percent of its original forest cover, and 92 percent of the country's amphibian species are considered to be threatened with extinction, according to CI.
