In a small stretch of the Atlantic Forest in southern Brazil lives a bright-orange species of frog that’s new to science, researchers report in a recent study. The miniature amphibian measures just over a centimeter long, less than half an inch, or the length of an average fingernail.
The team has named the toadlet Brachycephalus lulai, in honor of Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The genus Brachycephalus, also called flea toads or saddleback toads, are all tiny and live among leaf litter in Brazil’s Atlantic rainforest. Of the 42 known species, 35 have been described since 2000.
Individuals of the latest species to be described, B. lulai, were found hidden in the leaf litter of the montane Atlantic Forest at two nearby sites on the southeastern slopes of Serra do Quiriri in the state of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil.
The researchers collected 32 individuals and compared different features of the frogs, including their DNA and vocalizations, with those of other Brachycephalus species. Their analysis showed that it was indeed a new-to-science species.
B. lulai has a bright-orange body dotted with tiny green and brown spots. Males measure just 8.9-11.3 millimeters (0.35-0.44 inches) in length, while females are slightly larger at 11.7-13.4 mm (0.46-0.53 inches). The males produce a very distinct call to attract females that’s unique to the species, the researchers found.
Currently, the sites where B. lulai was found appear to be intact, without any significant threats. As such, the researchers suggest the species be categorized as least concern under the IUCN Red List classification.
“The new species occurs in highly preserved forests that are very difficult to access, which means it is not threatened with extinction,” Marcos R. Bornschein, study co-author from the Institute of Biosciences at São Paulo State University, told Popular Science. “It is one of the few Brachycephalus species that are not threatened, which is very reassuring for us.”
However, “it is essential to continue systematically monitoring this scenario,” the researchers write. This is because the broader Serra do Quiriri range — which includes threatened frog species like B. quiririensis, B. auroguttatus, and Melanophryniscus biancae — faces impacts from regular burning of grasslands, cattle grazing, mining, invasion of pine trees, and development for tourism.
Banner image: The newly described Brachycephalus lulai. Image courtesy of Luiz Fernando Ribeiro.
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