USGS Initiative Studying Impact Of Climate Change On Amphibians
[ Watch the Video: What is Climate Change ] redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports - Your Universe Online A US Geological Survey (USGS) effort to monitor the impact of climate change on amphibians living in the ponds and swamps of the...
Latest Frog Stories
North Carolina State University A carnivorous, cannibalistic tadpole may play a role in understanding the evolution and development of digestive organs, according to research from North Carolina State University. These findings may also shed light on universal rules of organ development that could lead to better diagnosis and prevention of intestinal birth defects. NC State developmental biologist Nanette Nascone-Yoder, graduate student Stephanie Bloom and postdoc Cris Ledon-Rettig...
Pensoft Publishers Do frogs live underground? The answer is yes, some amphibians, such as salamanders and frogs have been often reported to dwell in subterranean habitats, some of them completely adjusted to the life in darkness, and others just spending a phase of their lifecycle in an underground shelter. Up until 2010, however, no one suspected that the Mediterranean anuran frog Rana iberica - commonly known as Iberian brown frog and usually found in streams - also participates in...
April Flowers for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online A team of scientists, led by the University of New South Wales (UNSW), has used sophisticated cloning techniques to revive and reactivate the genome of an extinct Australian frog by implanting a "dead" cell nucleus into a fresh egg from another frog species. Rheobatrachus silus was a bizarre gastric-brooding frog that swallowed its eggs, brooded its young in its stomach and gave birth through its mouth. The frog species became...
American bullfrogs are native to eastern North America but have been transported by people to many other parts of the globe, and other parts of North America, where they have readily established populations and become an invasive alien menace to native ecosystems. In the largest study of its kind to date, the stomach contents of over 5,000 invasive alien American bullfrogs from 60 lakes and ponds on southern Vancouver Island were examined to identify the native and exotic animals that they...
Brett Smith for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online According to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an outbreak of Salmonella infections from 2008 to 2011 was caused by small, aquatic pet frogs. "This was the first Salmonella outbreak associated with aquatic frogs, and in this case the frogs are often marketed as good pets for kids," lead author Shauna Mettee Zarecki, a public health advisor with the CDC in Atlanta, told Reuters. The researchers...
Brett Smith for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online In a study that could have implications for organ transplant procedures, two scientists from Tufts University found that eyes placed on the backs of tadpoles were still capable of vision despite having no direct neural connection to the brain. "A primary goal in medicine is to one day be able to restore the function of damaged or missing sensory structures through the use of biological or artificial replacement components,” said...
April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online A new study from the University of Colorado, Boulder shows that the richer the biodiversity of amphibian species living in a pond, the more protection that ecosystem has against parasitic infections. The finding of the study support the broader theory that greater biodiversity in large-scale ecosystems such as forests or grasslands may also provide greater protection against diseases, including those that attack humans. A larger...
TORONTO, Jan. 17, 2013 /CNW/ - Alacer Gold Corp. ("Alacer" or the "Company") [TSX: ASR] and [ASX: AQG] today announced fourth quarter 2012 mine production for its operations in Turkey and Australia. Fourth quarter 2012 financial statements and the related management's discussion and analysis are planned to be released on or about March 13, 2013 (North America) and March 14, 2013 (Australia). Fourth Quarter 2012 Highlights...
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute What if Noah got it wrong? What if he paired a male and a female animal thinking they were the same species, and then discovered they were not the same and could not produce offspring? As researchers from the Smithsonian's Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project race to save frogs from a devastating disease by breeding them in captivity, a genetic test averts mating mix-ups. At the El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center, project...
LONDON, November 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Froglife (http://froglife.org), the UK's dedicated amphibian and reptile charity has asked Incentivated to create "The Dragon Finder" - a smartphone app which will allow people to identify amphibian and reptile species within the UK, record their sightings and find out more about individual species. Based upon Froglife's existing database, the app - which will initially be available on iOS and Android devices, along with a mobile...
Latest Frog Reference Libraries
The Spanish painted frog is found in Spain in and around rivers, swamps, freshwater marshes, meadows, and pastures. This species thrives where there are limestone or gypsum soils at sea level up to 6,500 feet in elevation. The Spanish painted frog is a medium-sized frog that has a dark colored body with spots or stripes. The belly of this species is pale white or yellow. The skin is smooth with two lines of skin from behind the eyes running the length of the body. These lines are glands...
The Iberian midwife toad is found around the Iberian Peninsula in southern and eastern Portugal, and also in western and central Spain. The elevation range of this species is between 300 - 4,265 feet, but it is typically found around 2,000 feet. The Iberian midwife toad prefers dry habitats in meadows and open forests with sandy soil that grow vegetation adapted for dry regions. However, this toad relies on streams and pools for the development of the tadpoles. The Iberian midwife toad is...
Frogspawn, (Euphyllia divisa), is a species of stony coral native to the Indo-Pacific islands. The related coral E. paradivisa is sometimes misidentified as frogspawn leading to some confusion. E. divisa has a corallite skeleton with a flabello-meandroid (continuous skeletal) “wall” structure, whereas E. paradivisa has a tree-like branching structure with separate corallites. Frogspawn is commonly used in marine aquariums.
Raining animals is a rare meteorological phenomenon, although there have been occurrences reported from many countries throughout history. It is believed that this phenomenon occurs at least occasionally when strong winds that are traveling over water pick up live debris (fish, frogs, etc.) and carry them up to several miles depositing them over land. Though this is one theory, it has never been witnessed or significantly tested. Animals that are most likely to drop from the sky during a...
The Purple Frog (Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis) is a species of frog belonging to the family Sooglossidae. It is found in the Western Ghats in India. It is also known as the Pignose Frog. It is a fairly new recognized species as it was discovered in 2003. However it was well known to the local people before this and several earlier specimens had been ignored. It is a unique species for its geographic region. The Purple Frog looks like a typical frog. It has a squat body, somewhat rounded...
