New York attempts to save one of the world’s largest salamanders
By Phyllis Sena The WCS’s Bronx Zoo is joining the fight to save the world’s largest salamander, the Eastern Hellbender, by teaming up with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Buffalo Zoo in reintroducing 38 of these animals into wild streams in the state of New York. Juvenile eggs were collected from the Allegheny River drainage at the start of the program, and they were raised off-location...
Rare newts in Prospect Park Zoo may be extinct in the wild
By Phyllis Sena The Prospect Park Zoo in Brooklyn, New York City, is now home to five critically endangered Kaiser’s spotted newts (Neurergus kaiseri). These black, white, and orange amphibians are found only in a five-square-mile region in Iran. Severe habitat loss and the illegal trade of these rare amphibians has driven the species to possibly be extinct in the wild, and they are officially ranked as critically endangered by the...
Bizarre: tadpoles seen wiggling inside daddy’s vocal sac (video)
Males gobbling babies. Wiggly tadpoles bulging beneath the skin. Yeah, okay, that’s bizarre, but it’s also the lifestyle of Darwin’s frog (Rhinoderma darwinii), an endangered species that was found by Charles Darwin himself. While the females carry the eggs, the male Dawin frogs carry the young tadpoles in its vocal sac (of all places!) for a fortnight. The footage was filmed and produced by EDGE Fellow Claudio...
Activism: ban Atrazine in the US for the frogs (and yourself)
Note: mongabay.com does not endorse the action below, but believes its readers may be interested in taking action or discussing the issue in comments. For the third annual Save the Frogs Day (Friday, April 29th), amphibian-lovers are taking the fight to Washington DC to rally at the Environmental Protection Agency for a ban on the herbicide Atrazine. Banned in the EU since 2004, Atrazine has been shown to chemically-castrate frogs at...
Pictures: Saving threatened frogs
Hand-feeding a sick Hyloscirtus colymba tree frog. The Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project is racing to save amphibians as the deadly chytrid fungus spreads down Central America. The disease is presently between Panama City and Colon. Juvenile Atelopus certus. Pristimantis species. Undescribed Pristimantis species. Juvenile Atelopus certus. Atelopus limosus. More photos to come. All photos by Rhett A....
Photos: Bornean gliding leopard tree frog
The Bornean gliding leopard tree frog (Rhacophorus pardalis). Shots taken from a recent visit to Gunung Palung National Park in Kalimantan. Photos by Rhett A. Butler,...
Photo: the shadow cast by a tree frog
A tree frog photographed in Amacayacu National Park, Colombia, 2010. We have been unable to identify this species, if you know please contact us. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler.
Video: bizarre purple frog sounds like a squeaky toy
Native to India, the purple frog (Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis) is listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List. The species is also a focal amphibian for the innovative ZSL EDGE program, which selects the species it works with based on their evolutionary uniqueness and threat level. According to the EDGE website: “The purple frog is the sole representative of an ancient lineage of frogs that has been evolving independently for...
Find the poison frog!
Look closely to spot the Green and black poison dark frog (Dendrobates auratus in the rainforest canopy in Colombia. See more photos below of the frog in Colombia. Unlike many Neotropical frogs, this species is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. Click to see more photos of poison dart...
Endangered baby crocodile newt
Anderson’s crocodile newt (Echinotriton andersoni) larvae. Photo by Rhett A. Butler Anderson’s Crocodile Newt is found in a range of tropical and subtropical habitats Japan and Taiwan, but is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List due to habitat loss. This individual is part of a captive-breeding program at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx...
Picture: Red-eyed tree frog
Red-eyed tree frogs are found in lowland rainforests ranging from southern Mexico to Colombia.
Masked frog croaking
Masked frog (Smilisca phaeota) croaking in a pool in Costa Rica. This species is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List. Photo by: Rhett Butler .
