Laos – a lost world for frogs
Wildlife Conservation Society
Frogs and lots of them are being discovered in the Southeast
Asia nation of Lao PDR, according to the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife
Conservation Society, which says that six new frog species
have been found by scientists over a two-year period.
Working in conjunction with the WCS Laos Program, scientists
describe the latest three species in the recent issue of Copeia,
the journal of the American Society of Herpetologists and
Ichthyologists. Little is known about the new frogs, other
than where they live and how they differ morphologically from
other similar species.
"Now that these species have been documented we can
go back and start to learn something about their biology,"
said Bryan Stuart of the Field Museum, a co-author of the
study.
The American Museum of Natural History and Russian Academy
of Sciences also collaborated on the new study.
Lao PDR, the least densely populated country in Asia, has
produced a treasure trove of wildlife discoveries in recent
years, from the Laotian rock rat, which is the lone living
member of an ancient mammal family, to the Annamite striped
rabbit and saola, a type of forest antelope. Nine amphibians
have been discovered by Stuart and his collaborators since
2002.
"Certainly much more remains to be found in Laos,"
said Stuart.
With a high level of biodiversity, Lao PDR has some of the
most significant forest areas remaining in Southeast Asia.
However, the combined loss of forest cover (estimated at nearly
55 percent) and over-exploitation of many species threatens
much of Laos's wildlife.
Already, a newly described salamander species found by Stuart
in Laos has turned up earlier this year in the Japanese pet
trade, where it is commanding a high commercial price. This
species is currently known only from two, nearby localities
in northern Laos. Conservationists are eager to begin surveys
of this species to document the extent of its range and habitat
requirements, in order to get it protected by the Lao government
before it becomes threatened by overexploitation.
|
