For over a century, Three unique species of African toads they remained hidden in museum jarwithout anyone noticing singularity. this year, Confirmed by an international team of scientists that’s about it Three new species of Nectophrynoidesresidents of mountainous forest of tanzaniawhich has extraordinary characteristics. Females directly give birth to small, fully formed toads, without going through the classic stages of eggs and tadpoles.
The study was published in the journal El Tiempo de Colombia. vertebrate zoology— challenges one of the most deeply entrenched paradigms in biology. amphibian metamorphosis.
“It’s no secret that frogs grow from tadpoles, one of the classic paradigms of metamorphosis in biology. But the approximately 8,000 species of frogs have a wide variety of reproductive modes, many of which bear no resemblance to the famous story.” said Professor Mark D. Schatz, Curator of Herpetology at the Natural History Museum of Denmark and co-author of the study.
Unlike most amphibians, these toads There is internal fertilization and a certain way embryonic regenerationa rare feature among frogs and toads. “Viviparous births are extremely rare among frogs and toads, occurring in less than 1% of species, making these new species extremely interesting.” Co-author H. Christoph Liedtke from the Spanish National Research Council emphasized:
Thanks to these adaptations, Nectophrynoides live away from bodies of waterunusual behavior within their group. Over time, they developed evolutionary strategy that guarantees that Children survive in the East African jungle.
The origins of this discovery date back to the early 20th century. in 1905, scientist Gustav Tournier Presented to the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences. First case of a Tanzanian toad capable of giving birth to live young.
More than a hundred years have passed since then, Specimens preserved at the Natural Museum in Berlin They were essential for confirming the existence of new species within that lineage.
“Some of these specimens were collected more than 120 years ago. Our museological research has allowed us to reveal exactly which populations they belonged to, giving further confidence to future research on these toads.” Dr. Alice Petzold of the University of Potsdam warned.
According to El Tiempo, Christian Slane, a researcher at the University of Copenhagen and lead author of the study, toured natural history collections around the country in search of preserved specimens. “Phylogenetic studies several years ago had already shown that there was unrecognized diversity among these toads. But by examining the specimens, we were able to better understand the morphological diversity and explain these new species.”accurate.
This is not the only discovery. Expand your knowledge about amphibian evolution But also, the fragility of the ecosystems in which they survive;. of Three toads that live in the East Ark Mountains of Tanzania.It is a highly diverse biological corridor and today it is undergoing rapid damage. Loss of forest cover due to deforestation, mining and climate change.
“The forests that these toads live in are disappearing rapidly.” said John V. Raikuruwa, a researcher at the University of Dar es Salaam and co-author of the study. Along similar lines, my colleague Michele Menegon also warned: Habitat is “highly fragmented” It directly affects the fauna that depends on them.
The outlook is not bright. Other species in the same genus are already on the verge of extinction. extinction. Nectophrynoides asperginis disappears in the wild and Nectophrynoides poyntoni has not been recorded since 2003..
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