The specimen was discovered by an international team of biologists.
An international team led by biologists from Panama and Switzerland discovered a new species of frog in a Panamanian cloud forest that was named “Greta Thunberg”, in honor of the young Swedish activist and her efforts in the face of the climate crisis.
Greta Thunberg’s frog (Pristimantis gretathunbergae sp. Nov.) Belongs to the group of rain frogs (rainfrogs) of the genus Pristimantis, Family Strabomantidae, said this Monday to Efe the biologist and director of the ADOPTA Bosque Association, Guido Berguido.
The article in which the new species is officially described and named was published this Monday in the scientific journal ZooKeys from Pensoft Publishing.
The specimen was discovered by an international team of biologists led by Doctors Abel Batista, from Panama, and Konrad Mebert (Switzerland) at Cerro Chucantí, a private reserve located in the Darien province and managed by ADOPTA Bosque.
The new species of frog “is endemic to Panama, it is only reported in the Republic of Panama and it only lives in the high mountains of Darien and in the center of Panama. In other words, it has a very restricted habitat and therefore is vulnerable to extinction, “Berguido explained.
The amphibian has black eyes, a unique trait among Central American rain frogs, and its closest relatives inhabit northwestern Colombia, indicated the Ministry of the Environment of Panama and the ADOPTA Bosque Association.
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Another endangered species of frog
The Panamanian Ministry of the Environment and the ADOPTA Bosque Association highlighted that “the dire situation of Greta Thunberg’s frog is closely related to climate change.”
“Rising temperatures would destroy their small mountain habitat,” since “the region around Cerro Chucanti has already lost more than 30% of its forest cover in recent years,” they added in separate pronouncements.
Another threat to the new species of frog is the deadly chytrid fungus, which affects the skin of amphibians, both agencies said.
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis is the name of the fungus that causes the skin disease that already affects more than 700 species of amphibians and has caused the decline of populations around the world, as well as the extinction of almost 200 species.
Baptized as Greta Thunberg
In 2018, the Rainforest Trust, a US-based nonprofit, celebrated its 30th anniversary by hosting an auction where they offered the rights to name some species new to science.
The winner of this auction proposed to name the new frog discovered in Darien to honor Greta Thunberg and her efforts in the face of the climate crisis, the Panamanian Ministry of the Environment said.
“Her ‘School Strike for Climate Action’ before the Swedish Parliament has inspired students around the world to carry out similar strikes called Fridays for the Future. She has impressed world leaders and her work is drawing others to action. because of the weather, “said the official information.
The importance of reserves
Berguido told Efe that the new species was discovered as part of Batista’s doctoral work in Germany, which “consisted of doing an analysis of the amphibians in Darien.”
Getting to the cloud forest where the frog was found involves riding long hours on horseback through muddy trails, walking up steep slopes, passing two helicopters crashed decades ago, and camping above 1,000 meters of altitude. “
The fact that this discovery was made in a private reserve “is of great importance (…) it is a wake-up call that we have much to discover, study and conserve in our country,” said the director of Adopta Bosque. (I)
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