SSS 2012-03-19

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Scientists discover new species all the time—on the order of 15,000 a year. One of the latest additions to the tree of life is a new type of leopard¹ frog. Which might sound unremarkable, except for where it was found: New York City.

 

But how does a frog go unnoticed in the Big Apple? Well even experts have a hard time telling this new species from its northern and southern cousins on looks alone. But the new guy has a different croak², which raised ecologists' suspicions. So they tracked down four leopard frog populations with the unique call—including one within view of the Statue of Liberty—and took DNA³ samples.

 

As they suspected, the odd croakers weren't southern or northern leopard frogs, or even a mix. They had a genetic⁴ ancestry⁵ of their own—earning them new species status. Those results appear in the journal Molecular⁶ Phylogenetics and Evolution. 

 

The frogs are tough New Yorkers—the center of their range appears to be Yankee Stadium. But the researchers say that the urban amphibians⁷ face threats like pesticides⁸ and infectious diseases. Not to mention real-life games of Frogger.

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