A “big” creature perched high above the ground, in the humid air of the Indonesian rainforest.
“Tunk…Tunk…Tunk.”
The connection “suddenly” split the air and caught the attention of nearby scientists. After the “loud and harsh” sound, they located its source – and discovered a new species.
The researchers ventured into the rainforest on the west side of the New Guinea, an island north of Australia, according to a July 13 study published in the Raffles Zoological Bulletin. They were looking for frogs, but not just any frogs.
The researchers wanted to find tree frogs that live high in the canopy so that they “are collected relatively rarely and remain unknown, even in areas where they are often heard calling,” the study said.
So when they heard “tonk…tonk…tonk,” they followed him. The sound came from more than 30 feet above the trees “near a waterfall on a mountain stream,” according to the study.
The source of the sound was “a wonderful, amazing frog,” co-creator Paul Oliver told McClatchy News. “It’s not the kind of thing you can easily overlook.”
The frog has been identified as a new species: Litoria azuroscelis, or blue-tipped tree frog.
The study said the azure tree frog measured 2.5 inches in size. It has a “dark green” color on its back with a “purple blue” groin and thighs. Pictures show that when the frog’s hind limbs are extended, this hidden coloration is clearly visible.
The new species was identified as distinct based on its size, colour, body shape and the strap on its hand, the study said. The researchers did not provide an analysis of the frog’s DNA.
The researchers collected two Azure-tipped tree frogs, the study said, and heard several other calls in the area.
“We know almost nothing about their ecology, but hopefully now (after) naming them, over the coming years we can learn more about where they are and what they do,” Oliver said.
The azure-groined tree frog is only found in the Wandamine Peninsula, an Indonesian region on the northwest coast of New Guinea. The tree frog is “probably more widespread,” the researchers said, but its distribution needs further study.
“New Guinea is a hotspot in the world for frog diversity, but the Indonesian half of the island is still very poorly known,” Oliver said. “This is just the tip of the iceberg — there are probably hundreds of new species of frog that could be described.”
The research team included Rainer Gunter, Stephen Richards, Amir Hamidi, Uyo Trilaxono, Tofan Suleiman, and Oliver.
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