Australian frog is rediscovered after 17 years
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A species of treefrog that was three years from being declared extinct was found in July in the tropical northeast of Australia. A local university Ph.D. candidate, Robert Puschendorf, along with volunteer researchers stumbled upon the armoured mistfrog (Litoria lorica) while surveying a related species near Mareeba, Queensland. The researchers thought they were catching a similar torrent treefrog (Litoria nannotis), until they examined a specimen more closely. The Associated Press reported that PCR lab results showed that the mistfrogs were n
A species of treefrog that was three years from being declared extinct was found in July in the tropical northeast of Australia. A local university Ph.D. candidate, Robert Puschendorf, along with volunteer researchers stumbled upon the armoured mistfrog (Litoria lorica) while surveying a related species near Mareeba, Queensland. The researchers thought they were catching a similar torrent treefrog (Litoria nannotis), until they examined a specimen more closely.
The Associated Press reported that PCR lab results showed that the mistfrogs were not unaffected by the devastating {{w|chytridiomycosis]], a pandemic disease affecting almost all frog species. Remarkably, they may actually be immune to fatal effects of the fungal infection. Puschendorf plans to publish a paper on the new findings of this Lazarus species.
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Licensed archive reporting by Wikinews contributors. Text: CC BY 2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/). Original source date retained. 411 has not independently verified this archive report.
Read the source: Wikinews ↗Source published 23 Sept 2008, 05:30 am IST
