Researchers discovered three new species of cryptic frogs in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. The new species are Chiasmocleis altomontana, C. veracruz, and C. migueli. They are part of the genus Chiasmocleis which are the humming frogs. Cryptic species are species that look identical to each other on the outside but are genetically different.
To tell these three species apart from other members of their genus, scientists looked at the skeletons. They noticed significant differences. After they found differences in the bones, the researchers looked more carefully at the outer appearance of the frogs and noticed small differences.
The new frogs can’t even be listed with the IUCN Red List because there isn’t enough data. Almost a third of of the humming frogs are listed as data deficient.
Source:
Forlani, M. C., Tonini, J. F., Cruz, C. A., Zaher, H., & de Sá, R. O. (2017). Molecular and (2017) Molecular and morphological data reveal three new cryptic species of Chiasmocleis (Mehely 1904) (Anura, Microhylidae) endemic to the Atlantic Forest, Brazil. PeerJ 5:e3005https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3005
