International Search Turns Up Three Amphibian Species Not Seen in Decades

An international search for “lost” amphibians has turned up three species previously thought to be extinct, including a cave-dwelling Mexican salamander not seen since 1941 and a well-camouflaged African frog not seen in four decades. With amphibian populations declining worldwide as a result of habitat loss, disease, and climate change, Conservation International — in conjunction with the IUCN Amphibian Specialist Group — is attempting to find about 100 species already feared lost in isolated areas of Latin America, Africa, and Asia. In expeditions that were part of the first phase of the campaign, scientists discovered the Cave Splayfoot Salamander, a pink-footed, brown species, within a deep pothole in Hidalgo Province, Mexico; the Mount Nimba Reed Frog, which had not been not seen since 1967, in the Ivory Coast; and the Omaniundu Reed Frog, a species marked with bright green spots and last seen in 1979, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. “These rediscovered animals are the lucky ones — many other species we have been looking for have probably gone for good,” said Robin Moore, one of the project’s organizers.