Species
(Re)Discovered
Lazarus species, zombie species, whatever you want to call them, they’re out there and our teams love to find them! In particular, we’ve had incredible success during our surveys of the remote Rio Manduriacu Reserve, where we found many overlooked species. Most recently we have rediscovered the most beautiful glassfrog in the world, discovered a new glassfrog and named it after the local community, rediscovered Fugler’s shadow snake (PDF) after not being seen for 54 years, and discovered an adorable new species of terrestrial frog.
It’s not only our trained scientists making discoveries though, our citizen scientists discovered a new species of glass frog (Hyalinobatrachium sp.) in the Amazonian reserve of Payamino. These imperiled amphibians have see-through bodies that help the males in particular blend into the leaves where they steadfastly guard their precious clutches of eggs. Extremely susceptible to pressures causing worldwide amphibian declines, these delicate frog species rely on healthy and reliable, freshwater streams to reproduce.
Our field teams have also re-discovered a spectacularly rare and overlooked species of true toad called the Tandayapa Andes toad (Rhaebo olallai) which was thought to be extinct since 1973, and we’ve found plenty of new species candidates including 30+ frogs (Pristamantis), several snakes, one salamander (Bolitoglossa), and a handful of stick-insects (Phasmids).
What we’ve done so far is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Focusing on Life Overlooked can uncover an incredible array of mushrooms, orchids, insects, and more that are waiting to be discovered and protected.
Will you join us in our mission to protect the unprotected?