Elusive creature with ‘heart-shaped’ tongue found hiding in bamboo. It’s a new species
Hidden in a bamboo stalk in China sat an elusive creature with a “heart-shaped” tongue. Its camouflage coloring and remote hideout made it difficult to find — but not impossible.
When scientists finally found the small animal, they discovered a new species.
Researchers ventured into the Gaoligong Mountains of Yunnan province in February 2022 to survey wildlife, according to a study published June 21 in the peer-reviewed journal Zoosystematics and Evolution. This mountain range has “high levels of biodiversity” but remains “largely understudied.”
During their visit, researchers found a pair of unfamiliar-looking frogs hiding in the bamboo, the study said. They took a closer look at the amphibians and soon realized they’d discovered a new species: Rhacophorus dulongensis, or the Dulongjiang tree frog.
Dulongjiang tree frogs are considered “small,” reaching about 1.4 inches in length, the study said. They have “pointed” snouts, golden eyes and “heart-shaped” tongues. Their backs are “smooth” while their bellies are “rough” with “large black warts.”
Photos show the coloring of a Dulongjiang tree frog. Seen from above, the frog has a dark forest green back and “slender” brown limbs. Seen from below, it has a white throat blending into a yellow belly and orange-red groin.
Dulongjiang tree frogs were found “inside bamboo” near a stream in a mountain forest, the study said. The new species “likely breeds in bamboo, a hidden behavioral characteristic that makes them easy to overlook.”
The new species is part of a larger group of “parachuting” frogs, sometimes referred to as flying or gliding frogs. These frogs cannot truly fly but “can soar and land gracefully from daunting heights” using their webbed toes, according to an article from the American Museum of Natural History.
Researchers said they named the new species after the Dulongjiang Village area where it was discovered and, so far, the only area where it has been found. This small town is in southern China’s Yunnan province and near the border with Myanmar.
The new species was identified by its body size, head shape, tongue shape, coloring and other physical features, the study said. DNA analysis found the new species had at least about 5% genetic divergence from other frog species.
The research team included Ping-Shin Lee, Ben Liu, Meng Ouyang, Ren-Da Ai, Xiao-Long Liu, Yan-Hong He, Ping-Qian Huang, Ying-Chun Li, R. S. Naveen, Zhi-Yong Yuan and Jin-Min Chen.
This story was originally published June 25, 2024 at 12:26 PM with the headline "Elusive creature with ‘heart-shaped’ tongue found hiding in bamboo. It’s a new species."
