Cocoa frog and lilliputian beetle among 60 new species found in Suriname

[dipsydoodle]

Sixty species new to science, including a chocolate-coloured frog and a tiny dung beetle less than 3mm long, have been discovered by scientists in Suriname.

An expedition of scientists spent three weeks in 2012 exploring an area of rivers, mountains and rainforest in the south-eastern region of Suriname that has "virtually no human influence". The Conservation International team found 11 new species of fish, one new snake, six new frogs and a host of new insects in the South American country.

Dr Trond Larsen, one of the field biologists, said they were particularly surprised by the number of frogs. "With many frog species rapidly disappearing around the globe, we were surprised and uplifted to discover so many frogs potentially new to science, including a stunningly sleek 'cocoa' tree frog," he said.

The cocoa frog (Hypsiboas sp) was named after its chocolate colouring, and described as an "especially heartening" find by Larsen. It eats leaves and lives on trees, using the round discs on its fingers and toes to climb.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/oct/03/new-species-suriname-frog includes video

[darkangel218]

1. Our world is so amazing and diverse..

Hopefully humans will wise up and quit destroying it. Its not too late to stop the destruction.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Wonderful cocoa frog! Amazing. Thanks for the info. n/t

[dipsydoodle]

4. If you want to check out some really cool animal etc pics then

google Tim Flach and hit images. Aside from being a friend from dancing he's prize winning photographer - big time.

[shireen]

3. wow!

Those Guardian photos are just the tip of the iceberg. I just found the press release and it came with an amazing collection of photos. I'm writing about it for earthsky.org and will add a link when it's done so you can see the other images. Sometime next week.