Tiny creature — with odd reproductive behavior — discovered as new species. See it
A tiny frog sits upon a nest of even tinier eggs, sounding his unique advertising call every so often to attract another female to add eggs to his pile.
Until recently, experts categorized these creatures, known as smooth frogs, among three species. But a recent analysis of advertising calls, genetic makeup and body shape has revealed a new species that was “hiding in plain sight,” researchers with the Australian Museum said in an Oct. 9 news release.
The new species was identified as Geocrinia sparsiflora, or the Otway Smooth Frog, according to the researchers’ study, which was published Oct. 7 in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
Scientists said the frogs are found in southern Australia, with three species, including the Otway Smooth Frogs, known in the east, and one species known in the west. The creatures live in moist, temperate habitats.
The new species is described as a “squat and robust” frog with a flat head and short snout. It has short arms with four “stubby” fingers and its back legs have five toes. Specimens collected by researchers ranged in size from about 1.02 inches to about 1.22 inches, according to the study.
Male Otway Smooth Frogs’ backs and heads are “striking red-orange” with “randomly placed, bright yellow spots and blotches encircled by black,” researchers said in the study.
The blotches are “flower-like,” according to the news release.
Scientists said the species was named for these spots: Its name is a combination of the Latin word for sparse, “sparsus,” and “Flora,” the Roman goddess of flowers.
Females are salmon pink. Males and females have blue-gray front sides, the study said.
The new species call is similar to an existing species’ call, researchers said. It is composed of one to four long introductory notes — which experts think serve a territorial function — and four to 18 shorter notes.
Otway Smooth Frogs are found in the Otway Plains and Ranges of southern Australia.
Smooth frogs are also known for their “unusual” and “interesting” reproductive mode, researchers said in the museum’s news release. Their eggs develop on land and hatch during the rainy winter months when nests are flooded.
“Males will staunchly guard the terrestrial nest and it’s not unusual for them to attract multiple females to lay their eggs in the nest pile,” scientists said in the release. “After several months, predictable winter or spring rainfall eventually floods the nest and the tadpoles hatch and complete their development aquatically.”
Researchers said the species’ limited distribution raises questions about its survival, but for now it seems to be a healthy population.
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