A analysis staff led by College of Copenhagen scientists has described three new species of the tree toad genus Nectophrynoides from Tanzania’s Japanese Arc Mountains.
Nectophrynoides luhomeroensis, grownup in life. Picture credit score: Thrane et al., doi: 10.3897/vz.75.e167008.
The genus Nectophrynoides belongs to the household Bufonidae and, till now, consisted of 13 acknowledged species which can be endemic to moist forests and grasslands in Tanzania.
Generally referred to as tree toads, members of Nectophrynoides exhibit viviparous copy, a trait that’s extraordinarily uncommon amongst frogs.
All species of Nectophrynoides are discovered within the Japanese Arc Mountains, besides Nectophrynoides viviparus, which can also be discovered within the adjoining Southern Highlands of Tanzania.
“The three new species of frogs belong to an uncommon group of African toads within the genus Nectophrynoides,” stated Dr. Christian Thrane from the College of Copenhagen and colleagues.
“As an alternative of laying eggs that hatch into tadpoles, the feminine tree toads carry their offspring inside their our bodies and provides beginning to completely shaped, tiny toads.”
“This makes them among the many only a few amphibians on this planet able to inner fertilization and true stay beginning.”
“It’s frequent information that frogs develop from tadpoles — it’s one of many basic metamorphosis paradigms in biology,” stated Dr. Mark D. Scherz from the Pure Historical past Museum Denmark.
“However the almost 8,000 frog species even have all kinds of reproductive modes, lots of which don’t carefully resemble that well-known story.”
“Solely a handful of frog species from South America and Southeast Asia have developed related methods making these toads a uncommon case within the animal kingdom.”
“Reside-bearing is exceptionally uncommon amongst frogs and toads, practiced by lower than 1% of frogs species, making these new species exceptionally fascinating,” stated Dr. H. Christoph Liedtke, a researcher on the Spanish Nationwide Analysis Council.
Within the examine, the authors for 257 specimens assigned to the Nectophrynoides viviparous advanced.
Primarily based on their outcomes, they recognized three new species: Nectophrynoides luhomeroensis, Nectophrynoides uhehe, and Nectophrynoides saliensis.
“The outline of three new species brings the variety of recognized viviparous anurans to twenty species worldwide, of which 16 species belong to the genus Nectophrynoides,” the researchers stated.
“The distinctive copy and biology that these bufonids exhibit spotlight the potential useful loss, if these species go extinct.”
“The chance of shedding these species and their contribution to useful range in amphibians needs to be causes to extend conservation efforts to be able to shield them.”
“Extra surveys are wanted to completely perceive the habits and ecology of those exceptional arboreal viviparous bufonids.”
The invention is reported in a paper within the journal Vertebrate Zoology.
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C. Thrane et al. 2025. Museomics and integrative taxonomy reveal three new species of glandular viviparous tree toads (Nectophrynoides) in Tanzania’s Japanese Arc Mountains (Anura: Bufonidae). Vertebrate Zoology 75: 459-485; doi: 10.3897/vz.75.e167008
