A significant advancement in the field of biodiversity has been achieved by a group of scientists by identifying new species of frogs in Ecuador, specifically in an Amazonian reserve in the south of the country.
This discovery highlights the ecological importance of the Cordillera del Cóndor and underscores the need to continue exploring still under-studied regions.
The research team has detected three new species of amphibians in this area of high biological diversity, located in the southern part of Ecuador.
Their study, which has been published in the journal PeerJ, reveals the discovery of the species Pristimantis verrucosus, Pristimantis plateado, and Pristimantis melanops, which belong to a diverse group in the Andes.
These frogs are part of the genus Pristimantis, one of the most varied in the Andean tropical regions, where new species are often discovered due to the scarce scientific research in these remote areas.
It was a team from the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (UTPL) that achieved this discovery in the Cerro Plateado Biological Reserve, located in the province of Zamora Chinchipe, near the border with Peru, according to the university.
The collaboration included the Ovidius University of Constanta in Romania and the Green Jewel Foundation.
New species of frogs discovered
The discovery of these three species, Pristimantis verrucosus, Pristimantis plateado, and Pristimantis melanops, has been made possible thanks to detailed genetic analyses, morphology studies, and sound recordings, which helped distinguish them from other known species.
Paul Székely, researcher at the UTPL Zoology Museum, highlights that the ‘Pristimantis’ genus is one of the most diverse in the tropical Andes, making the discovery of new species not uncommon in little-explored regions.
These frogs have a life cycle without the aquatic tadpole phase, and the offspring emerge as fully formed frogs, a common adaptation in amphibians from mountainous areas.
Recorded in the Cerro Plateado Biological Reserve, within the Cordillera del Cóndor, these species are found in a region with outstanding biodiversity, where the connection of Andean and Amazonian ecosystems promotes the evolution of endemic species.
However, their limited geographical distribution could make them vulnerable to threats such as habitat loss.
The use of genetic analyses, along with the evaluation of physical and acoustic characteristics, allowed researchers to identify these frogs as distinct species within the complex mountainous ecosystems.
The Cerro Plateado Biological Reserve is a crucial enclave that connects the Andean and Amazonian environments, known for its unique evolutionary adaptations.
