Seven Dwarfs

Frogs belonging to the genus Brachycephalus are elusive study subjects and not only because many are less than a centimeter long. These micro-amphibians from the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest are also microendemic. This means they inhabit—and only inhabit—very specific locations, such as a single mountaintop, or “sky island.” But for an intrepid group of herpetologists, five years of looking (really) hard paid off. Yesterday, the team described seven new species in the journal PeerJ.

The exciting expansion of the genus comes as amphibians worldwide are experiencing unprecedented declines. It’s too soon to know for sure how the newcomers (new to us, anyway) are faring, but the researchers have reason to worry. Illegal logging and cattle-ranching threaten the frogs’ cloud forest homes, and their tiny ranges make them very vulnerable to any disruptions in their habitat—especially the biggest one of all: climate change. 

Photo: Ribeiro et al/PeerJ 3:e1011Brachycephalus mariaeterezae

Photo: Ribeiro et al/PeerJ 3:e1011Brachycephalus olivaceus

Photo: Ribeiro et al/PeerJ 3:e1011Brachycephalus auroguttatus

Photo: Ribeiro et al/PeerJ 3:e1011Brachycephalus verrucosus

Photo: Ribeiro et al/PeerJ 3:e1011Brachycephalus fuscolineatus

Photo: Ribeiro et al/PeerJ 3:e1011Brachycephalus boticario

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