A team of U.S. scientists headed by Dr Jeremy Feinberg of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ, has described a new cryptic species of leopard frog from the New York City metropolitan area and surrounding coastal regions.
The Atlantic Coast Leopard Frog (Rana kauffeldi), males. Image credit: Feinberg JA et al.
Dr Feinberg encountered the frog in 2008 on Staten Island, not far from the Statue of Liberty.
In 2012, he and his colleagues, who had worked together to show that this frog was a brand new species, made the initial announcement.
Now, a new research paper published in the open-access journal PLoS ONE completes that discovery.
The paper has provided the critical evidence needed to formally describe and name the new frog and also presents information on the distribution, ecology, and conservation status of this species.
Historically, the new frog was confused with two closely related species – Rana sphenocephala and R. pipiens – because it looks so similar.
As a result, it was not noticed as a distinct species. But after the encounter in 2008, modern technology stepped in. Using molecular and bioacoustic techniques to examine the genetics and mating calls of leopard frogs from various parts of Northeast, the team was able to positively determine that the frog found living in the marshes of Staten Island was, in fact, a new species that might also be hiding in ponds and wetlands beyond New York and New Jersey.
The discovery brings the total number of leopard frogs in the world to 19.
“It is incredible and exciting that a new species of frog could be hiding in plain sight in New York City and existing from Connecticut to North Carolina,” said senior author Dr Joanna Burger of Rutgers University.
Dr Feinberg and his colleagues have named the new species Rana kauffeldi.
The specific name honors ecologist Carl Kauffeld (former director of the Staten Island Zoo and a researcher at the American Museum of Natural History), who more than a half century ago studied the R. pipiens complex in the NY/NJ-metro area and concluded that three distinct species, including the newly discovered one, occurred there.
The scientists have recommended the common name ‘Atlantic Coast Leopard Frog’ for this new species.
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Feinberg JA et al. 2014. Cryptic Diversity in Metropolis: Confirmation of a New Leopard Frog Species (Anura: Ranidae) from New York City and Surrounding Atlantic Coast Regions. PLoS ONE 9 (10): e108213; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0108213
