MANILA, Philippines — A new “cryptic” species of fanged frog from the Southwestern Tagalog Region, previously deemed identical to another species from a different region, was recently discovered by researchers from the University of Kansas. According to the study published in the peer-reviewed journal Ichthyology & Herpetology last month, the Mindoro fanged frog shares multiple characteristics and is “morphologically indistinguishable” from its close relative from Palawan called the Acanth’s Fanged Frog or Limnonectes acanthi. The Mindoro fanged frog’s mating call was found to have a single note, low-frequency trill with multiple sequential and slower repetition rate – distinctively different from the Acanth’s Fanged Frog two-pulse note mating call. But, recording the two frog species’ call proved to be difficult for the team of researchers. According to records from AmphibiaWeb, a database for information about every species of amphibian in the world, 13 frog species part of the Limnonectes genus are found in the Philippines.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer May 11, 2021 05:43 UTC