Mindo Noble Frog, the new species of tiny frog discovered in the Ecuadorian Andes

Researchers from several countries have discovered a new species of tiny frog in the Andean mountain range of Ecuador, an amphibian considered among the smallest vertebrates in the world, as described in a scientific publication.

Named Rana Noble de Mindo (Noblella mindo) It was found on the northwestern slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes, and described by researchers from the San Francisco de Quito University (USFQ), the National Biodiversity Institute (INABIO), the German Alexander Koenig Research Museum, the Southern Cross University (Australia) and New Brunswick (Canada).

Noble Frogs are a group of miniature amphibians, among which are some of the smallest vertebrates in the world, details an INABIO statement released this week. The adults of the discovered species reach a 19 mm maximum size, smaller than a penny.

This type of frog belongs to the genus Noblella and currently contains 16 species, distributed in the montane forests of the Andes of Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, and the tropical ones of the Amazon from these three countries to southeastern Colombia and western Brazil.

Scientists Carolina Reyes-Puig (associated with INABIO), Juan M. Guayasamin, Claudia Koch, David Brito-Zapata, Matthijs Hollanders, Melissa Costales and Diego F. Cisneros-Heredia (associated with INABIO), point out in their research that the new species differs from other types of Noble Frogs by having the back brown with dark spots. The amphibian also has a brown throat and chest, a yellow belly, and rounded toe discs.

This research also indicates a new location for Worley’s Noble Frog (Noblella worleyae), a species of amphibian that was described in 2020, and that is the Los Cedros Reserve.

The study was published in the latest volume of the international scientific journal Acta Herpetológica. On the other hand, INABIO reported this week the discovery, after 66 years, in Ecuadorian territory of a glass frog classified in the endangered species category.

This discovery was made by a team from the Amazon Regional University (Ikiam), the USFQ and INABIO that identified two specimens of the “Laura’s Crystal Frog” (Nymphargus laurae), collected in the Colonso-Chalupas Biological Reserve, in the Amazon province of Napo.

The growing descriptions of new species within the territory of Ecuador have a practical application in the biodiversity conservation, underlines the INABIO.

“By highlighting the presence of new vertebrates of restricted distribution in the Andes, the visibility of this unique biodiversity is indisputable,” says the institution. (I)