Two Frog Species Thought Extinct Are Found
Posted on: Thursday, 8 June 2006, 12:00 CDT
The discovery of two frog species feared extinct has made a Colombian protected area the focal point for efforts to save amphibians from a deadly fungus.
The fungus has covered Central and South America, decimating their frog populations.
Scientists say they recently found the critically endangered Santa Marta harlequin frog (Atelopus laetissimus) and the San Lorenzo harlequin frog (Atelopus nahumae) for the first time in 14 years.
The frogs were found in the El Dorado Nature Reserve established in March on the northwest slope of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta massif, on Colombia's Caribbean coast.
The reserve is an important home for threatened species, and its protection is a top priority of the Alliance for Zero Extinction -- a 62-member group of conservation organizations battling global extinctions.
Neither of the rediscovered frog species had the deadly fungal disease chytridiomycosis, raising hopes the species can be saved in the protected area or through captive breeding.
The fungus has been found as close as 25 miles to the preserve, on the other side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and scientists will study the frogs to learn how they have avoided it.
Source: United Press International
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