Franco Andreone, Wikimedia Commons
Somewhere between 129 and 221 new species of frogs have been identified in Madagascar—nearly double the known amphibian fauna on the island. The new study suggests that biodiversity in this biodiversity hotspot has been significantly underestimated, even in well-known and well-studied national parks.
“People think we know which plant and animal species live on this planet,” says Miguel Vences of the Technical University of Braunschweig, one of the authors. “But the century of discoveries has only just begun—the majority of life forms on Earth is still awaiting scientific recognition.”
In the 15 years prior to these findings, researchers had discovered and described over 100 new frog species from Madagascar and believed their species inventory to be nearly complete.
But the new surveys show far more species than suspected. The results come from DNA sequencing of 2,850 specimens of amphibians at 170 sites. The data don’t show suggest more individual amphibians living in Madagascar—only more species diversity. Which means the new species are likely fragile and less populous.
The new research also implies that total biodiversity of all species on Madagascar could be higher than previously thought. Therefore the continuing destruction of rainforest in Madagascar may be affecting more species than we know.
Although many reserves and national parks have been created in the past ten years, real protection on the ground is thin. Madagascar has already lost more than 80 percent of its historic rainforest.
The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, found that nearly one-quarter of the new species were discovered in unprotected areas.
