Two frog species feared extinct found in Colombia:
Scientists have found the Santa Marta Harlequin frog and the San Lorenzo Harlequin frog, rated critically endangered after no sightings in 14 years, in a reserve in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta massif on Colombia’s Caribbean coast.A fungal disease that smothers amphibians’ skin is decimating dozens of species of brightly-colored frogs in Central and South America, adding to pressures such as pollution, climate change, deforestation and expanding cities.
The rediscovery of another species — a painted frog — in Boyaca, Colombia, was announced last month.
Some scientists say amphibians are on the front line of what may become the worst extinction crisis since the dinosaurs vanished 65 million years ago.