Striped mountain creature — with orange legs — is a new species in Thailand. See it
In the mountains of western Thailand, the steep landscape and isolation make the forests hard to navigate.
Small creatures have remained hidden from the scientific record in this environment, aided by their home’s geography.
Now, researchers have identified one of these animals: the Thong Pha Phum paddy frog.
Micryletta thongphaphumensis, a frog found in the Thong Pha Phum district of Thailand, is about 1 inch long, according to a study published Oct. 10 in the peer-reviewed journal Zoosystematics and Evolution.
The frogs are considered “medium-sized” compared to other related species, and have the characteristic external eardrums and bumps on their fingers and toes found with other Micryletta species, researchers said.
But the frog has a unique long black streak that runs from “the tip of the snout to crotch,” according to the study, and smooth skin.
The rest of their bodies are mixtures of gray, brown and orange, with orange dominating on their arms and legs, researchers said.
“The body sizes of males are smaller than females generally,” researchers said, and the “translucent skin on belly” of female frogs revealed black and white eggs inside them.
The frogs were collected from Thailand, but due to the location’s proximity to Myanmar, researchers suspect they have a range that extends into the other countries in the region.
A few of the female frogs were discovered near a waterfall, according to the study.
“Despite being home to an extensively rich amphibian diversity, southern China and Southeast Asia are also threatened by human activity and global warming, which increases the risk of extinction prior to the discovery of new species,” researchers said.
Thong Pha Phum district is on the western border of Thailand along southern Myanmar.
The research team includes Yu-Yang Cao, Chatmongkon Suwannapoom, Felista Kasyoka Kilunda, Wei Gao, Chun-Lian Wu, Yun-He Wu and Jing Che.
