|
|
Tweet |
Mad frog bonanza: up to 36 new frogs discovered in tiny Madagascar forest
"...And that's why these numbers are so extraordinary (especially compared with other tropical forests). Betampona is also considered a botanical 'hotspot' with 20 of the 100 most endangered Malagasy plants found within its borders!"
- Lead author of the paper, Gonçalo M. Rosa
A forest less than half the size of Manhattan sports an astounding number of frogs, according to a new paper in Biodiversity Conservation. Two surveys of Madagascar's Betampona Nature Reserve, which covers 2,228 hectares, has uncovered 76 unique frogs, 36 of which may be new to science.
Lead author of the paper, Gonçalo M. Rosa, told mongabay.com that the reason why this forest held so many frog species "is still a mystery." He notes that up to 24 of the species in the forest may be endemic, i.e. found no-where else in the world but in tiny Betampona.
Another confirmed new frog species from Betampona Forest Reserve in the Platypelis genus. Photo by: Gonçalo M. Rosa.