Scientists Still Finding New Frog Species

May 28, 2004 -- Not all frogs are as green or as friendly as Kermit.

Julian Faivovich's fingers have been chomped several times while trying to collect specimens of the very rotund ornate horned frog.

"They bite hard," said Faivovich, a graduate student in herpetology and co-curator of a live frog exhibit opening this weekend at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. "They have two very sharp teeth protruding from the bottom jaw."

If threatened, the fire-bellied toad throws its legs into the air to flash its menacing bright orange belly. And if that isn't enough to scare off trouble, its back is coated with lethal toxic secretions.

Sharp teeth and bright orange may not be qualities that usually come to mind when most think of frogs, but that's part of the problem. Ignorance of what's out there is a real hurdle when it comes to ensuring frogs' survival.

"We're in a phase of loss," said Christopher Raxworthy, associate curator of the department of herpetology at AMNH. "Just as we're learning about new species, we may be losing them."

Big, Small, Fierce, Weird

So far, researchers have recorded the existence of some 4,900 frog species (that includes toads, which are a kind of frog that are generally browner and drier and have more warts). But Raxworthy says there are likely many more. He estimates that researchers will have identified close to 6,000 frog species by the end of his lifetime. Since 1995, alone, he points out, 990 new species have been described.

There is the squat, round African bullfrog that lives underground 11 months out of the year, emerging only to mate and eat insects, birds and rodents. On a more delicate scale, the narrow mouth toad spans only 1 ½ inches and dines on ants and snails.

The golden poison dart frog is also petite, but packs a lethal poison. The tiny yellow creature from Central and South America emits enough poison on its back to kill up to 10 people,