New Frog Species Discovered in NYC

New York City is the most populous city in the United States, and yet a newly discovered frog species living there has gone unnoticed until recently.

The Manhattan-dwelling amphibian is the leopard frog Rana kauffeldi, which is described in the latest issue of PLOS ONE. The frog looks suitably fashionable, with its distinctive leopard-print skin in shades of brown and green.

"The discovery of a new frog species from the urban Northeast is truly remarkable and completes a journey that began six years ago with a simple frog call in the wilds of New York City," researcher Jeremy Feinberg from Rutgers University was quoted as a saying in a press release.

Feinberg and his team, familiar with frog calls, wondered, "What the heck is that?" when they first heard the call, which consists of a short, repetitive croak. The calls of other leopard frogs have been described as sounding like a "long snore" or even a human, throaty laugh.

The scientists traced the call to the leopard frog. DNA testing revealed that it was a previously undocumented species.

The researchers believe that, in addition to NYC, the frog exists in other parts of New York, as well as in coastal lowland regions from Connecticut to northeastern North Carolina. This video, produced shortly after Feinberg and his team began to investigate the mysterious NYC frog, shows more about leopard frogs in the U.S. and where they are found.

The frog favors "open-canopied wetlands interspersed with upland patches," but it's also seen in muddy NYC puddles, including around Yankee Stadium. The frog's fashionable skin serves as the perfect camouflage, perhaps explaining how a busy New Yorker could walk right by the cleverly nature-disguised amphibian without even noticing it.

Read more at Discovery News