Laos said to harbor many new frog species
The Wildlife Conservation Society in New York says new species of frogs -- and lots of them -- are being discovered in the Southeast Asia nation of Laos.
The organization says six new frog species have been found in Laos during the past two years. Little is known about the new frogs, other than where they live and how they differ morphologically from other similar species.
"Now that these species have been documented, we can go back and start to learn something about their biology," said Bryan Stuart of Chicago's Field Museum, a co-author of the study in which the American Museum of Natural History and the Russian Academy of Sciences also collaborated.
Laos is the least densely populated country in Asia and has produced a treasure trove of wildlife discoveries during recent years.
Working in conjunction with the WCS Laos Program, scientists described the latest three frog species to be discovered in a recent issue of Copeia, the journal of the American Society of Herpetologists and Ichthyologists.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International