A recent study documented the discovery of 100-200 new amphibian species in Madagascar.
One of the researchers, Dr. Miguel Vences, stated: “People think that we know which plant and animal species live on this planet. But the century of discoveries has only just begun – the majority of life forms on Earth is still awaiting scientific recognition.”
The large numbers of new species counted by the 15 year inventory suggest the number of species in Madgascar, has been underestimated significantly. ( A great gallery of some of the frogs.)
Unfortunately, the rate of rainforest destruction there threatens animal life increasingly. In what may seem like a complete paradox, species are being being scientifically discovered for the first time, while they are being killed by widespread destruction like deforestation.
Also in Madagascar many wild frogs are eaten by the local people. A researcher named Richard Jenkins recently conducted a five month survey of hunters who delivered frogs to an eastern Madagascar restaurant. Over 3,000 frogs were taken to the restaurant and sold for consumption during the survey period.
To see more amphibians in Madagascar, see Dr. Vences beautiful slideshow.
Image Credit: Dr. Miguel Vences
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Jake Richardson
Hello, I have been writing online for some time, and enjoy the outdoors.
4 Responses to 100-200 New Amphibians Discovered in Madagascar
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Funny how whenever people talk about species going extinct, you never hear a voice pipe up about new species being discovered or coming into being…
I clicked just to find out how many comments it would take for this to happen.
There’s really quite a lot of diversity on Madagascar.
There’s really quite a lot of diversity on Madagascar. Seems a lot like the problem with the Amazon rainforest, a lot of biodiversity with many creatures and plants still undiscovered but their habitat being encroached on by deforestation and the expansion of cities and villages.