Endangered amphibians rediscovered

A new amphibian was recently discovered in the Western Ghats. From the Times of India:

The new species, Ichthyophis davidi, a yellow striped caecilian according to him, has been discovered from the Belgaum district of Karnataka, which is part of the Western Ghat. The new species Ichthyophis davidi is one of the largest known yellow striped caecilians from Western Ghats and is named in honour of David Gower, Department of Zoology, The Natural History Museum, London, in recognition of his contributions to Indian caecilian studies, he said. [....] Western Ghats, one of the global biodiversity ‘hot spots’, support 25 species of legless amphibians (the caecilians). Among the 25 species, only 5 are yellow striped forms, which are limited in distribution. He said that the members of the team had also discovered a few other new species of amphibians from the region earlier.

For those species of amphibians trying to find that perfect partner, distance may be the issue. Thankfully Amphibian Ark is coming to the rescue!

A new initiative by the conservation group, Amphibian Ark, hopes to match lonely, vanishing frogs with a prince/princess to to save them. Dubbed FrogMatchMaker.com after online dating sites, the program is working to connect supporters and donors with amphibian conservation programs in need. Currently, amphibians are among the world's most imperiled species with 41 percent threatened with extinction according to the IUCN Red list. "This website currently includes 48 projects in 23 countries on three continents and can be searched by country, region, species, funding amount required, and by project type," explains Kevin Johnson, Amphibian Ark Communications Officer, in a press release. "You can also browse new projects that have been added in the last 30 days or projects that have been added in the last 60 days. Using FrogMatchMaker.com, donors have been able to easily locate amphibian conservation projects that are a good match with their organizations’ missions, and provide appropriate support, to ensure the success of these vital programs."

To read the full article, or participate in the program, click here.