New species of 'pumpkin toadlet' poisonous frog found in Brazil

[Judi Lynn]

7. Glowing Pumpkin Toadlet Can't Hear Its Own Tiny Scream

Ed Cara
Today 2:51PM



A member of the newly dubbed Brachycephalus rotenbergae, a pumpkin toadlet.
Photo: Edelcio Muscat

Scientists in Brazil say they’ve discovered a new species of poisonous toad—hidden in plain sight due to its close resemblance to another related species. Aside from their tiny size, the wee toads have brightly colored skin and bones that fluoresce under UV light, a feature that still isn’t completely understood.

Study author Ivan Sergio Nunes Silva Filho, a zoologist at São Paulo State University, and his colleagues have been studying the biodiversity of the Brazilian Amazon for some time. Part of this work has involved untangling the genus of amphibians known as Brachycephalus. Not all toads and frogs in the genus look alike, but they’re all miniaturized, compared to the average frog we’re familiar with, with the smallest species being no longer than 1 centimeter front to back. Many also have very similar and sometimes poisonous orange skin, leading to their nickname of pumpkin toadlets (the more brownish ones are called flea frogs and toads).

There are more than 30 known species of Brachycephalus, including 15 possible new species that have been identified by scientists in the past five years. One species in particular, called Brachycephalus ephippium, is found throughout Brazil. But researchers like Nunes have wondered whether some of these sightings of B. ephippium might have actually been of other related species that have gone unnoticed.

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Brachycephalus rotenbergae glowing under a UV flashlight.
Photo: Muscat, et al, PLOS One

In their new paper, published in PLOS One on Wednesday, they argue that they’ve discovered one such hidden species along the Mantiqueira Mountains and forests of Southeastern Brazil. They’ve decided to name it Brachycephalus rotenbergae, after Elsie Laura Klabin Rotenberg, founder of Projeto Dacnis, a non-governmental organization dedicated to conservation of the Brazilian environment that helped with their research.

More:
https://gizmodo.com/glowing-pumpkin-toadlet-cant-hear-its-own-tiny-scream-1846782367