‘Bug-eyed’ creature found in ranger station water tank in Vietnam. See new species
In the northern mountains of Vietnam, a tank collects water next to a ranger station of Phia Oac–Phia Den National Park.
More than 6,000 feet above sea level, a small creature clung to the tank with its orange toes before being collected and examined.
The 1-inch long animal, with piercing red eyes, turned out to be a new species.
Theloderma woltersi, or the Wolters bug-eyed tree frog, is different from other tree frogs found along the Vietnam-China border because of its “distinctly flattened” body and pointed snout, according to a study published Aug. 19 in the journal Raffles Bulletin of Zoology.
The new species is brown on its bumpy back with darker cheeks and occasional black splotches, according to the study. The frog is relatively smooth compared to other known species.
Its belly is a light cream color, with large blocks of black in random patterns reaching up the sides of its body and onto the back legs, researchers said.
Its relatively large eyes are bright red, and the frogs’ toes are an orange-red color, according to the study.
The species was named after the late Jürgen Wolters, a founding member of a group that supports amphibian research and conservation in Vietnam, researchers said.
The frog is smaller than other related species, according to the study, with females larger than their male counterparts.
“This group of frogs is adapted to (a tree-dwelling) lifestyle,” researchers said, and have adapted expanded toe disks and extensive webbing on the hands and feet to thrive in the trees.
Bug-eyed frogs are also known as mossy frogs, because other species in the same genus are often green and very bumpy, mimicking moss on a branch. This common color means the reddish-brown coloration of the new species is even more unique.
Researchers said more surveys of the region are needed to truly understand the environment’s frog diversity, and to learn how best to protect it.
Phia Oac–Phia Den National Park is in northern Vietnam near the border with China.
The research team included Hoa Thi Ninh, Tao Thien Nguyen, Hoang Huy Nguyen, Nikolai Orlov, Manh Van Le and Thomas Ziegler.
This story was originally published August 22, 2024 at 2:18 PM with the headline "‘Bug-eyed’ creature found in ranger station water tank in Vietnam. See new species."
