Story at a glance
- In a study published Wednesday in PLOS ONE, a team of Brazilian researchers detail how they collected samples of pumpkin toadlets in the forests of Brazil.
- Researchers carried out a series of analysis including examining the toadlet’s size and shape, studying bones and examining DNA samples.
- They identified a new species with different physical attributes and DNA that differed by about 3 percent, enough to warrant a classification of a new species.
Researchers say they’ve discovered a new species of a tiny, bright orange toadlet that resides in the Atlantic Forest along Brazil’s east coast.
Pumpkin toadlets are a group of related species of amphibians that measure in at just under half an inch and often have neon, tangerine skin that secretes a neurotoxin. Dozens of species of pumpkin toadlets that look similar to each other have been identified over the years by researchers in the forests of Brazil.
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In a study published Wednesday in PLOS ONE, a team of Brazilian researchers detail how they collected samples of pumpkin toadlets south of the Mantiqueira mountains in the state of Sao Paulo between 2017 and 2019.
After collecting the specimens, researchers carried out a series of analysis including examining the toadlet’s size and shape, studying bones and examining DNA samples. As a result, they say they identified a new species previously undiscovered they dubbed Brachycephalus rotenbergae, named after a founder of the Brazilian NGO Projeto Danis which works to conserve forests where the toadlets reside.
The analysis found distinct differences from previously known species of pumpkin toadlets, including small dark spots on its skull, a slightly smaller size and snout and DNA that differed by about 3 percent, enough to warrant a classification of a new species.
The toadlet is similar to other species as it is poisonous and bears a fluorescent color when illuminated with UV light.
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