Meet the newest addition to the frog family! Adorable tiny pumpkin toadlet is discovered in Brazil
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Biologists have discovered an adorable 'pumpkin' toadlet in a Brazilian tropical rainforest, previously unknown to science.
The amphibian has a startlingly orange body with distinctive green and brown freckles, delicate little legs and jet black eyes.
It is about an inch and a half long and barely bigger than a pencil tip, remarkable photos reveal.
The cute frog was found deep in the cloud forests of the Serra do Quiriri mountain range in the southern Brazilian Atlantic Forest.
Scientists say it's a new member of the Brachycephalus genus, which are among the smallest four-legged animals on Earth.
It has been named Brachycephalus lulai, after Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Males of this species measure between 8.9 and 11.3 millimeters (0.35-inch to 0.44-inch), which is around the size of a large pea.
Females, meanwhile, are typically larger than the males – somewhere between 11.7 and 13.4 millimeters (0.46-inch to 0.52-inch).
The new species of tiny frog no bigger than a pencil tip has been discovered in southern Brazil
With males measuring between 8.9 and 11.3 millimeters and females between 11.7 and 13.4 millimeters, they are among the smallest four-legged animals on Earth
In their paper in PLOS One detailing the species, they say it is currently classified as 'least concern', meaning not currently at risk of extinction - but they call for immediate conservation efforts to protect it and its relatives
The scientists discovered this specimen by its unique call, a mating song unlike those of other known Brachycephalus in the area.
It consists of groups of two short bursts of sound, which led the team to its location.
Belonging to a group of miniature 'pumpkin toadlets' that live in damp leaf litter, the species is distinguished by its vivid colouring and genetic and anatomical traits that set it apart from closely related frogs found nearby.
The scientists used a range of tools and techniques to be sure that this frog was distinct from its relatives, including DNA analysis and CT scans to look at the skeletal structure.
'As a result of this work, we discovered and herein described a population collected on the eastern slope of Serra do Quiriri as a new species based on several diagnostic features,' they report.
For several years, the researchers have been combing the Atlantic Forest region to find and catalogue species in the Brachycephalus genus of frogs.
Brachycephalus are microendemic, meaning they're found only in a small, restricted area, and are vulnerable to extinction.
B. lulai occupies a range estimated at just a few square kilometres of high-altitude Atlantic Forest.
The bright orange amphibian was spotted in the mountain forests of Serra do Quiriri in southern Brazil, prompting fresh calls for stronger conservation of the region's fragile habitats
The amphibian, named Brachycephalus lulai after Brazil's president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, occupies a range estimated at just a few square kilometres of high-altitude Atlantic Forest
Belonging to a group of miniature 'pumpkin toadlets' that live in damp leaf litter, the species is distinguished by its vivid colouring and genetic and anatomical traits that set it apart from closely related frogs found nearby
The scientists discovered this specimen by its unique call, a mating song unlike those of other known Brachycephalus in the area
The researchers also stress the need for continued monitoring of the frogs to detect any new or emerging threats to their habitat
In their paper in PLOS One detailing the species, they say it is currently classified as 'least concern', meaning not currently at risk of extinction.
But its discovery has prompted fresh calls for stronger conservation of the region's fragile habitats.
'This status is based on the absence of observed ongoing decline and the apparent lack of plausible future threats,' they say.
'Nevertheless, it is essential to continue systematically monitoring this scenario.
'Through this tribute (the act of naming a new species), we seek to encourage the expansion of conservation initiatives focused on the Atlantic Forest as a whole, and on Brazil's highly endemic miniaturized frogs in particular.'
