It looked like a leopard frog, more like those found in the southern part of the east coast than the northeastern leopard frogs, but it didn't have the croak of a leopard frog. So Catherine Newman from UC Davis's Department of Evolution and Ecology, and her team of researchers, used nuclear and mitochondrial DNA to determine if, in fact, the New York City frog, is indeed a new species of leopard frog....
And the DNA showed that the NYC frog that didn't croak in a 'rapid chuckle' like the leopard frog, wasn't at all a type of leopard frog, but a completely different species - in fact, a brand new species of frog.
While the investigators explore the genetics of the NYC frog further, they have identified its hang-outs. Swampy areas, like Yankee Stadium, the Meadowlands (they know where all the bodies are buried!). and various spots around Staten Island and the Bronx.
While so many species of amphibians are becoming extinct, it is refreshing to find that new species are still being found.... And right here, in of all places, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut!
sources: cnews via my colleague Steve Levenstein, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
That's the buzz for today!
