In a handy stroke of luck, scientists have rediscovered a "lost" African species: the Bururi long-fingered frog. Last seen in , the 1. Thwarted by decades of political conflict, few biologists have so far been able to explore Burundi's ecosystems. During the recent survey, scientists collected one male specimen of the frog, whichโlike all male Bururi long-fingered frogsโhas an elongated "ring" finger on each hand. Finding Frog a "Great Moment". The frog's original discoverer, a Belgian biologist, did not describe exactly where in Burundi he'd found the animal, so Blackburn and colleagues were "shooting in the dark" when they began their search for the frog.
Blackburn figured that frogs of the same genus in Cameroon โthe closest relatives of the Bururi frogsโwould have similar mating calls, so he kept his ear attuned for those sounds. Sure enough, the researcher located the right sounds in a thickly forested area. See pictures of a see-through frog and other "lost" species found in the Congo. Little is known about the long-fingered frog's biology or its numbers, Blackburn noted. For instance, the exact purpose of the animal's namesake digits remains a mystery.
What's more, he said, a growing human population is moving into the Burundi mountains, where people often eat wildlife and cut down large swaths of forests for firewood.
As of right now, it seems the frog may exist only in small patches, and "if the forest goes, these frogs will go. The rediscovery of the long-fingered frog is part of a larger study on the evolution of Africa's animals that's currently in progress.
All rights reserved. The rediscovered Bururi long-fingered frog. Photograph courtesy David Blackburn. By Christine Dell'Amore. You May Also Like. United States Change.
