Elusive Long-Fingered Frog Rediscovered in Burundi Rainforest After 62 Years

Posted on March 27, 2012

Herpetologists from the California Academy of Sciences and University of Texas at El Paso discovered a single specimen of the Bururi long-fingered frog (Cardioglossa cyaneospila) during a research expedition to Burundi in December 2011. The frog, last seen by scientists in 1949, is 1.5 inches long with a black and bluish-gray coloration. The male long-fingered frogs are notable for one extra-long finger on each foot, analogous to the "ring finger" in humans. The herpetologists say the purpose of the extra-long finger is unknown.

Previous knowledge of Burundi's wildlife came from scientific surveys conducted in the mid-20th century, when the nation was under Belgian administration. Since then, Burundi has suffered from political unrest, population growth and habitat loss.

With little knowledge to go on except a hunch that C. cyaneospila would make a call like its possible close relatives in Cameroon, Academy curator David Blackburn finally found a single long-fingered frog specimen on his fifth night in the forest. He says he did hear calls made by other long-fingered frogs.

Blackburn says, "I thought I heard the call and walked toward it, then waited. In a tremendous stroke of luck, I casually moved aside some grass and the frog was just sitting there on a log. I heard multiple calls over the next few nights, indicating a healthy population of the species, but I was only able to find this one specimen."

In addition to locating the Bururi long-fingered frog, Blackburn and his colleague Eli Greenbaum, professor at the University of Texas at El Paso, also documented dozens of other amphibians in Burundi, many of which had never before been recorded in the country. The team also discovered some species that may be new to science.

Greenbaum says, "Eventually, we will use the data from our expedition to update the IUCN conservation assessment for amphibians of Burundi. Because Burundi is poorly explored, we've probably doubled the number of amphibian species known from the country. Once we demonstrate that Burundi contains rare and endemic species, we can work with the local community to make a strong case for preserving their remaining natural habitats."

FROGS