The rediscovered Hula painted frog is a living fossil

Rebecca Biton, Eli Geffen, Miguel Vences, Orly Cohen, Salvador Bailon, Rivka Rabinovich, Yoram Malka, Talya Oron, Renaud Boistel, Vlad Brumfeld, Sarig Gafny*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

75 Scopus citations

Abstract

Amphibian declines are seen as an indicator of the onset of a sixth mass extinction of life on earth. Because of a combination of factors such as habitat destruction, emerging pathogens and pollutants, over 156 amphibian species have not been seen for several decades, and 34 of these were listed as extinct by 2004. Here we report the rediscovery of the Hula painted frog, the first amphibian to have been declared extinct. We provide evidence that not only has this species survived undetected in its type locality for almost 60 years but also that it is a surviving member of an otherwise extinct genus of alytid frogs, Latonia, known only as fossils from Oligocene to Pleistocene in Europe. The survival of this living fossil is a striking example of resilience to severe habitat degradation during the past century by an amphibian.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1959
JournalNature Communications
Volume4
DOIs
StatePublished - 4 Jun 2013

Funding

FundersFunder number
Institute of Archaeology
Israel Taxonomy Initiative
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Israel Science Foundation300/06, 858/09
International Team for Implantology

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