A team of scientists from Seychelles, the United States and the United Kingdom has found a new caecilian, perhaps the smallest species of the legless amphibian on Earth. "As soon…
Across the swath of vertebrate lifeforms that inhabit Earth, scientists have a pretty good idea about where most of the known land mammals, birds and amphibians live. That makes identifying…
14 million Amazon animals and plants — caiman skins, turtles, parrots, orchids and more — are legally exported annually. Illegal trafficking levels are unknown.
Three new frog species have been discovered in the montane forests and Andean grasslands of Peru’s Pui Pui Protected Forest. Rudolf von May, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of…
There are three orders in the class Amphibia, collectively comprising nearly 7,700 species. Of those three, the order Anura, which includes frogs and toads, represents 6,787 of the world’s known…
Scientists have described four new species of burrowing frogs in India, adding to the rapidly growing list of new amphibian species that have recently been discovered in the country. The…
A new species of Asian mountain toad belonging to the genus Ophryophryne has been discovered in the the Truong Son or Annamite mountains of Vietnam, an area of high diversity…
A 2015 study found that humans activities are driving species loss at a rate 100 times faster than historical baseline levels — which the researchers behind the study characterized as…
Scientists have discovered anti-flu molecules in an Indian frog's skin secretions. The slimy mucus of the brightly colored wide-spread Fungoid Frog (Hydrophylax bahuvistara) contains molecules that normally protect the frogs…
Two new species of clown tree frogs have been discovered in the Amazonian rainforests of Bolivia and Peru. Clown frogs are widespread throughout the Amazon region and get their name…
In the rugged limestone hills of northern Vietnam, scientists have discovered a new species of frog that looks like a small piece of rock. Researchers have named it the stone leaf-litter…
Scientists have discovered the first-ever fluorescent frog. Under normal light, the South American polka dot tree frog (Hypsiboas punctatus) -- widespread in South America -- appears a dull brownish-green with…
A species has just three options in the face of environmental change: move, adapt or die. As global temperatures rise many species are shifting their ranges, particularly towards the cooler…
Biologist Jennifer Serrano was in the Amazonian rainforests of the Manú Biosphere Reserve in southeast Peru one night a few years ago when she came across a poison dart frog…
Amphibians around the world are in a state of crisis. Over 40 percent are threatened with extinction. Chytrid fungus, a disease fatal to most amphibians, is decimating populations already threatened…
You don’t have to travel far to discover a new species – just head to the natural history museum. At least that’s how Chris Barratt, a doctoral student at the…
Indian scientists have discovered seven new species of frogs in the Western Ghats, a biodiversity-rich mountain range in India. All the newly described species belong to the genus Nyctibatrachus, commonly known as…
The legal commercial exotic animal trade is a booming enterprise that ships ornamental fish, mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians around the world. These pets, livestock and other animals can carry…
On the latest episode of the Mongabay Newscast, we welcome journalist Sue Branford, a regular contributor to Mongabay who has been reporting from Brazil since 1979 when she was with…
Romer's tree frog is, in every respect, an animal that keeps out of the way. Start with its size: averaging just 1.5 to 2.5 centimeters (0.6 to 1 inches) in…
Scientists have discovered a new species of poison frog on the Amazonian slopes of the Andes in southeastern Peru. The species was found in just nine locales in the buffer…
Brazil is forging ahead with plans to build a vast hydropower dam complex in the heart of the Amazon that would convert the now remote and wild Tapajós river system…
Natives from some parts of the Amazon region have long believed that a deadly pit viper, the bushmaster (Lachesis muta), can sing. But the venomous snake, which can grow up…
Many amphibians worldwide are facing extinction, but one frog in California’s Yosemite National Park is defying the trend. Researchers in the park were surprised to witness a large-scale recovery of…
In a swamp, just six miles away from the Newcastle airport in New South Wales, Australia, scientists have discovered a new species of frog that is only slightly bigger than a…
A rare tree frog species is believed to be extinct after the death of its last living member. “Toughie,” the last-known Rabbs' fringe-limbed tree frog, was found dead in his…
Deforestation is pressing further into a protected area in central Peru, finds a recent analysis by the Monitoring the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP). Satellite data and images show areas of…
The world of amphibians has a new official member, with a species of rain frog discovered recently in and near Tingo Maria National Park in Peru's central Andes. The new…
he Paris Agreement marked the biggest political milestone to combat climate change since scientists first introduced us in the late 1980s to perhaps humanity’s greatest existential crisis. Last December, 178…
Japan's natural hot springs, or onsen, are frequented by locals and visitors alike, who relax in the year-round steaming water in public bathhouses. As it turns out, they’re not the…