Global hunt is on for ‘lost’ amphibians

AN INTERNATIONAL search was launched yesterday to rediscover 100 species of “lost” amphibians, including the golden toad, Jackson’s climbing salamander and hula painted frog.

The unprecedented global hunt is taking place in 14 countries on five continents and comes as amphibian populations suffer a startling decline in numbers.

Some of the potentially extinct species on the list have not been seen for decades, including the Turkestanian salamander, last seen in 1909.

More than 30% of all amphibian species are threatened with extinction.

Scientists say amphibians are sensitive to the environment and act as an indicator for environmental damage.

Amphibians also play the vital role of controlling insects that spread disease and damage crops.

They help maintain healthy freshwater systems and the chemicals in amphibian skins have been used in the creation of life-saving drugs, including a painkiller two-hundred times more potent than morphine.

Dr Robin Moore of Conservation International, said: “Amphibians are particularly sensitive to changes in the environment, so they are often an indicator of damage that is being done to ecosystems.

“But this role as the global ‘canary in a coal-mine’ means that the rapid and profound change to the global environment that has taken place over the last fifty years or so – in particular climate change and habitat loss – has had a devastating impact on these incredible creatures.

“We’ve arranged this search for ‘lost’ species that we believe may have managed to hang on so that we can get some definite answers – and hopefully learn about what has allowed some tiny populations of certain species to survive when the rest of their species has been lost.”

A pathogenic fungus has increased problems for amphibians, causing chytridiomycosis, a disease that has wiped-out populations.

Dr Claude Gascon, co-chairman of the IUCN Amphibian Specialist Group and executive vice president of Conservation International, said: “This is something that has never been done before, and is hugely significant, not only because of the threats that amphibians face and our need to understand what has been happening to them better, but also because it represents an incredible opportunity for the world’s amphibian scientists to rediscover long-lost species.

“The search for these lost animals may well yield vital information in our attempts to stop the amphibian extinction crisis, and information that helps humanity to better understand the impact that we are having on the planet.”

* Follow the search at conservation.org/lostfrogs