New Tree Frog Species Discovered in Forested Mountains of Central Vietnam
Posted on April 26, 2014
A new species of tree frog, Gracixalus lumarius, has been discovered in dense evergreen forests in the mountains of central Vietnam. The frog is pink and yellow colored and is about 4 centimeters (2.5 inches) long. Males of the species have prickly, white-tipped spines. The frog has been named the Thorny Tree Frog because of the spines.
Dr. Jodi Rowley, coordinator, Australian Museum Research Institute, and lead author of a paper on the new tree frog, says in a blog post that the conical spines on the male frogs "become bigger and more impressive in the breeding season." Dr. Rowley says, "So perhaps the spines help females of the species figure out whether or not a male is ready to breed."
The female frog lays her eggs in small, water-filled hollows in trees. When the eggs hatch this may keep the tadpoles out of reach of some predators living in the streams or ponds below.
A research paper on the Thorny Tree Frog is published herein the journal, Zootaxa.