BBC News (London, UK) July 23rd, 2010 11:16 AM: Bellyflop shows how frogs evolved

Frogs evolved the ability to jump before they perfected the art of landing, according to scientists.

The researchers, from New Zealand and the US, studied a primitive group of frogs called Leiopelmatidae.

They captured slow motion footage of the creatures leaping and landing, and noticed that they hit the ground in a rather inelegant bellyflop.

The scientists report their findings in the journal Naturwissenschaften.

The team, led by Richard Essner from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, wrote in their paper that these bellyflop landings also "limited the frogs' ability for repeated jumps".

This adds to the weight of evidence that jumping in frogs evolved as an ability to leap quickly into the water, rather than to move around on land.

The researchers compared the frogs to more advanced, or highly evolved, species. These creatures flexed their legs mid-leap, setting themselves up for a perfect landing on their feet.

The scientists wrote that this shift to "early hindlimb recovery might have been a key feature... [Read More]

Livescience.com (Utah, USA) July 20th, 2010 06:51 PM: Long-lived Salamanders Offer Clues to Aging

Blind salamanders once thought to be baby dragons can live at least as long as most people, scientists now find. Adults of this species live nearly 69 years on average, with a predicted maximum age of more than 100 years, three times longer than related species

Surprisingly, the long-lived amphibian doesn't seem to have an especially low metabolism nor unusual levels of protective antioxidant molecules to explain why it lives so long. As such, this salamander could help uncover mechanisms that could help keep us young.

The olm or proteus (Proteus anguinus) lives in the limestone caves of southern Europe. The amphibian is sometimes confusingly known as the "human fish" — "fish" because it lives its entire life in the water, and "human" because its pink skin resembles that of nearby people.

The olm has atrophied eyes and virtually no skin pigment — both adaptations to its largely lightless existence. Due to their snake-like bodies, these small amphibians were once thought to be baby dragons.

... [Read More]

National Geographic News (Washington DC, USA) July 20th, 2010 02:24 PM: 30 Amphibian Species Wiped Out in Panama Forest

The "catastrophic" epidemic in Panama claimed five species that were lost before they were even identified by science, a new study says.

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EDGE Blog (Zoological Society of London, UK) July 20th, 2010 05:30 AM: Victory for the conservation of NZ frogs!

In fantastic news for nature conservation, the New Zealand Government announced today it has abandoned plans to mine 7000 hectares of land protected under Schedule 4 of the Crown Minerals Act, including strongholds of two top priority EDGE Amphibians.Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee and Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson declared that the government has decided [...]
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BBC News (London, UK) July 20th, 2010 03:04 AM: A snapshot of frog destruction


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Mongabay News (California, USA) July 19th, 2010 02:13 PM: 30 frog species, including 5 unknown to science, killed off by amphibian plague in Panama

With advanced genetic techniques, researchers have drawn a picture of just how devastating the currently extinction crisis for the world's amphibians has become in a new study published in the Proceedings of the Nation Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Studying frog populations using DNA barcoding in Panama's Omar Torrijos National Park located in El Copé researchers found that 25 known species and 5 unknown species have vanished since 1998. None have returned.

Amphibians are threatened in many parts of the world by pollution, habitat loss, invasive species, over-exploitation, pesticides, and climate change, yet the big killer of the world's amphibians is disease: chytridiomycosis, a fungal disease, is wiping out frogs even in the world's most untouched habitats.

To determine just how devastating chytridiomycosis has become, researchers with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) looked at the well-surveyed Omar Torrijos National Park in... [Read More]

EDGE Blog (Zoological Society of London, UK) July 12th, 2010 03:21 AM: Luristan Newt is Species of the Day!

EDGE Amphibian number 80 - the wonderful Luristan newt (Neurergus kaiseri) - is today’s Species of the Day!The Luristan newt is the smallest of the four Neurergus salamanders, a colourful and attractive group found in the Middle East. Their attractive colouration warns predators of their toxic skin secretions. This species lives in just three fast-flowing [...]
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Livescience.com (Utah, USA) July 8th, 2010 08:45 AM: Inflatable Toads Thwart Sex

When grasped by a male they do not want to have sex with, female cane toads will inflate their bodies so rival males can dislodge the unwanted suitor.

Researchers recently discovered that this puffing up makes it easier for larger, more desirable male toads to knock puny, but persistent paramours off of a female's back. This novel method of mate selection – never seen before in any animal – gives females some say over who ends up as father of their tadpoles.

"Our study shows that females can exert mate choice by inflating their bodies," said lead author Bas Bruning, an ecologist at Vrije University in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

It has long been known that toads and frogs can defensively swell themselves with air to increase their body size, a survival trick that intimidates predators and prevents snakes from being able to swallow them. Now it seems that female toads have co-opted this tactic in the evolutionary battle of the sexes.

... [Read More]