Long Thought Extinct Hula Painted Frog Discovered in Israel
Posted on November 18, 2011
Israeli biologists and conservationists are thrilled after the discovery of one female Hula painted frog in a nature preserve. The Hula painted frog has been thought to be extinct for fifty years. It is unique to Israel.
Haaretz reports that Nature and Parks Authority warden Yoram Malka found the frog Tuesday during a routine patrol to monitor the birds in the Hula Nature Reserve. Malka said he saw something jump that he didn't recognize. He ran over and picked up the frog and turned it over. He was shocked to see the identifying marks of the elusive frog he has been hoping to see for years. He compared the frog to the illustrations in his handbook and knew he had a real find.
Malka summoned Dr. Sarig Gafni of Ruppin Academic Center's School of Marine Sciences, who showed up carrying the original scholarly article which described the frog in 1940. Dr. Gafni aid, "We went through the article, sign by sign, and checked all the indicators, including the distance between the eyes, and it is indeed a Hula Painted Frog. It's very exciting; to me it's like finding the Dead Sea Scrolls of nature conservation in Israel."
The Hebrew name of the frog is agulashon shehor-gahon. It was named after its black belly and its tongue. The rounded tongue is not used to catch prey, which is unusual for frogs. The frog will be kept by the scientists for a time, before being returned to the wild. Here is some raw footage of the now famous frog: