Hula painted frog | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Amphibia |
Order: | Anura |
Family: | Alytidae |
Genus: | Latonia |
Species: | L. nigriventer |
Binomial name | |
Latonia nigriventer | |
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Synonyms | |
Discoglossus nigriventerMendelssohn and Steinitz, 1943 Contents |
The Hula painted frog (Latonia nigriventer) is a species of frog endemic to the Lake Hula marshes in northern Israel. It is the only living member of the genus Latonia, which is otherwise known from fossils from Europe spanning from the Oligocene through Pleistocene. [3] The Hula painted frog was thought to be extinct as a result of habitat destruction during the 1950s until the species was rediscovered in 2011.
The draining of Lake Hula and its marshes in the 1950s was thought to have caused the extinction of this frog, along with the cyprinid fish Mirogrex hulensis and cichlid fish Tristramella intermedia . [4] Only five individuals had been found prior to the draining of the lake. Environmental improvements in the Hula reserve have been cited as a possible reason for the frog's reemergence. [5]
The Hula painted frog has a dark belly with small white spots. It is colored ochre above with a rusty colour grading into dark olive-grey to greyish-black on the sides. Differences from the common painted frog ( Discoglossus pictus ) include its greater interocular distance, longer forelimbs, and a less projecting snout. The type specimen was an adult female with a body length of 40 millimetres (1.6 in)
Little is known about its history, because few specimens have been found by scientists. Two adults and two tadpoles were collected in 1940 and a single specimen was found in 1955. This would prove to be the last record of this species until 2011. [6]
The four 1940 specimens were to be used as types, but the smaller, half-grown frog was eaten by the larger one in captivity. [2]
According to an ecologist of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, the frog's Hebrew name, agulashon shehor-gahon (Black-bellied round-tongued), derives from its black belly and round tongue. The scientific name of the species reflects these details as well. Unlike the tongues of other frogs, it is not used to catch prey. [7]
This frog was originally proposed to be a member of the genus Discoglossus , but further genetic and morphological assessment after the rediscovery of the species led a reassignment to genus Latonia , for which no other living examples are known. Fossils of Latonia are known in Europe spanning from the Upper Oligocene until the Early Pleistocene. [8] The closest relative of Latonia is considered to be Discoglossus. On this basis, the Hula painted frog has been labeled a living fossil, the only extant representative of an ancient genetic split. [9] [10] [11]
In 1996, the IUCN classified this species as "extinct in the wild", the very first amphibian to be given that designation by the IUCN. [1] [11] Israel continued to list it as an endangered species in the slim hope that a relict population may be found in the Golan Heights or in southern Lebanon. Following the rediscovery of the species in 2011, the IUCN now considers the frog to be critically endangered as its known habitat occupies less than 2 km2. [1]
In 2000, a scientist from the Lebanese nature protection organisation A Rocha claimed he had seen a frog species which could be Latonia nigriventer in the Aammiq Wetland south of the Beqaa Valley in Lebanon. Two French-Lebanese-British expeditions in the years 2004 and 2005 yielded no confirmation as to the further existence of this species. [12] In August 2010, a search organised by the Amphibian Specialist Group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature set out to look for various species of frogs thought to be extinct in the wild, including the Hula painted frog. [13]
In 2013, a study published in Nature Communications revealed that in 2011 during a routine patrol at the Hula Nature Reserve, ranger Yoram Malka found the frog, which he immediately suspected as being the Hula painted frog, as he claimed he has been on the lookout for it for many years. Scientists confirmed that it was one of this rare species. [5] [9] [10] An ecologist with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority credited the rehydration of the area for the frog sighting. [14] On November 29, a second specimen was located in the same area. [5] The second Hula painted frog, a female, was found in swampy weeds twenty centimeters deep. It weighed 13 grams, half the weight of its male counterpart. [7] Since the discovery of the first specimen, at least ten more individuals have been found, all in the same area. [15]
In 2016, a team led by Professor Sarig Gafni of the Ruppin Academic Center's School of Marine Sciences discovered populations totaling several hundred individuals by searching in water at night, instead of in marsh mud, finding populations in 17 of the 52 Hula Valley water holes they surveyed. [16]
In 2017, an article published in the Molecular Ecology Journal, mentions of a group of scientists who investigated the suitable aquatic habitats for Hula painted frogs using the environmental DNA (eDNA) approach. [17] The Hula Lake once provided a habitat for many rare species including this frog. Since, the 2011 rediscovery of this species in this region (in the Hula nature reserve), consequent efforts to study and protect it started. However, these efforts have been hampered by the elusive nature of this species (that also prevented it being found from the 1950s-2010s). Since, there is a lack of systematic and efficient methodology to detect a rare amphibian or aquatic species, including this Hula painted frogs, they were designated “extinct”; until their rediscovery at a later stage.
Environmental DNA (eDNA) is becoming a ‘go-to’ tool for detecting species presence in aquatic environments. eDNA extraction (genetic material extracted through water filtrate) followed by quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR is a technique to amplify genetic material in real time) are highly sensitive methods which can increase the detection probability of rare organisms. To be more reliable the researchers concluded a site to be positive for the presence of Hula painted frogs if the water contains eDNA and if the physical presence of frog is detected as well. Thus, these researchers sampled 52 sites and found that 22 sites were positive for the presence of Hula painted frogs. Most of the positive sites were located in the regions around Hula Nature Reserve, Agamon ha-Hula, and Ein Te’o Nature Reserve. These regions overlap with the former Hula Lake region, and also contain organic, and colluvial-alluvial soils.
Such findings in the regions around reserved parks indicate the importance of nature parks in conservation of wild-life. The suitable habitats predicted by employing the eDNA are of great importance for identifying potential sites for future translocation to save this rare frog.
In 2018, another article published in Nature Scientific Reports, mentioned that this species has low abundance and dispersal capability, calling for urgent conservation measures. [18] The total estimate of potentially reproducing adults in this population (Nad) is found to be 234-235 individuals. They determined the population genetics of this species through a capture-recapture study on 118 adult frogs, and through micro-satellite analysis. Surprisingly, this frog has high genetic diversity (HO = 0.771) and low inbreeding coefficient (FIS = −0.018) with an effective population size estimate (Ne) of ~16–35. It could be due to the presence of one more unknown population or genetic admixture leading to a high genetic diversity and low inbreeding in spite of a less population.
Future research calls for understanding the habitat locations of another population which is not well studied, or different spots within the Hula valley location in which the frog species can be present. The aquatic habitats of this species are prone to disturbance and anthropogenic hazards which could imperil the survival of endangered Hula frogs. Thus outcomes of any future research dealing with prediction of the favorable dwelling habitats of this rare species, and their habitat characterization will be vital to protect the only living member of genus Latonia, by recommending characteristics of safer spots.
A living fossil is an extant taxon that phenotypically resembles related species known only from the fossil record. To be considered a living fossil, the fossil species must be old relative to the time of origin of the extant clade. Living fossils commonly are of species-poor lineages, but they need not be. While the body plan of a living fossil remains superficially similar, it is never the same species as the remote relatives it resembles, because genetic drift would inevitably change its chromosomal structure.
Bombinatoridae is a family of toads found in Eurasia. Species of the family have flattened bodies and some are highly toxic.
The Alytidae are a family of primitive frogs. Their common name is painted frogs or midwife toads. Most are endemic to Europe, but three species occur in northwest Africa, and a species formerly thought to be extinct is found in Israel.
In paleontology, a Lazarus taxon is a taxon that disappears for one or more periods from the fossil record, only to appear again later. Likewise in conservation biology and ecology, it can refer to species or populations that were thought to be extinct, and are rediscovered. The term Lazarus taxon was coined by Karl W. Flessa and David Jablonski in 1983 and was then expanded by Jablonski in 1986. Paul Wignall and Michael Benton defined Lazarus taxa as, "At times of biotic crisis many taxa go extinct, but others only temporarily disappeared from the fossil record, often for intervals measured in millions of years, before reappearing unchanged". Earlier work also supports the concept though without using the name Lazarus taxon, like work by Christopher R. C. Paul.
The Hula Valley is an agricultural region in northern Israel with abundant fresh water, which used to be Lake Hula, prior to its draining. It is a major stopover for birds migrating along the Syrian-African Rift Valley between Africa, Europe, and Asia.
Discoglossus is a genus of frogs in the family Alytidae found in southern Europe and northwestern Africa.
The Vegas Valley leopard frog, also known as the Las Vegas leopard frog, is an extinct species of frog. It once occurred in the Las Vegas Valley, as well as Tule Springs, Clark County, southern Nevada in the United States, at elevations between 370 and 760 m. It was believed to be the only frog endemic to the United States to have become extinct in modern times.
The wildlife of Israel includes the flora and fauna of Israel, which is extremely diverse due to the country's location between the temperate and the tropical zones, bordering the Mediterranean Sea in the west and the desert in the east. Species such as the Syrian brown bear and the Arabian ostrich have become extinct in Israel because of their loss of habitat. As of May 2007, 190 nature reserves have been established in Israel.
Mirogrex hulensis, sometimes known as the Hula bream, was a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. Its natural habitats were swamps and freshwater lakes in Lake Hula in northern Israel. Mirogrex hulensis looked much like a sardine. In Israel other members of the genus often are called "sardin" in culinary terms.
The Iberian painted frog is a species of frog in the family Alytidae. It is found in Portugal and Spain, where its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, rivers, intermittent rivers, swamps, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, sandy shores, arable land, and grassland. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The Spanish painted frog, in Spanish sapillo pintojo meridional, is a species of frog in the family Alytidae. It is endemic to Spain.
The Tyrrhenian painted frog is a species of frog in the family Alytidae.
Hyla savignyi, also known as the Savigny's treefrog, lemon-yellow tree frog, and Middle East tree frog, is a species of frog in the family Hylidae. The species is endemic to the Middle East, where it has been declared an endangered species.
Sarcohyla celata, also known as the Oaxaca treefrog, is a species of frog in the family Hylidae. It is endemic to Mexico and only known from the Sierra de Juárez in northern Oaxaca. After having not been seen after 1984, it was feared that the species might be extinct. However, the species was rediscovered in field surveys during 2011–2014 and some subpopulations are at healthy levels.
Sarcohyla cembra, also known as the Southern Sierra Madre treefrog, is a species of frog in the family Hylidae. It is endemic to Mexico. Until recently, it was only known from two male specimens: one from its type locality on the Pacific slopes of the Sierra Madre del Sur mountains, Pochutla District, Oaxaca, and another one from Sierra de Yucuyacua south-east of Llano de Guadalupe, in north-west Oaxaca. The two locations are about 172 km (107 mi) apart. After having not been seen after 1993, it was feared that the species might be extinct. However, the species was rediscovered in field surveys in 2011–2012, extending its range with a new locality about 10 km north of the type locality.
Pseudophilautus hypomelas is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae endemic to Sri Lanka. It is sometimes referred to as the webless shrub frog. In 2004 it was declared extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature when, despite extensive field efforts, no specimen had been seen in the wild after the species was described by Albert Günther in 1876. However, this frog was rediscovered in 2010 in the Peak Wilderness, a highly biodiverse area in the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka. Thus, this species had been "lost" for more than 130 years.
Discoglossus pictus, the Mediterranean painted frog or simply painted frog, is a species of frog in the family Alytidae.
Heinz Steinitz was a senior Israeli marine biologist and herpetologist, Professor and Chairman of the Department of zoology at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He laid the foundation for research and teaching in marine biology and oceanography in Israel. In 1968 he founded the Marine Biology Laboratory of the Hebrew University near Eilat, serving as its first director. He also served as a founding member of the Zoological Society of Israel and a co-founder of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel.
Latonia is a genus of frogs in the family Alytidae. It contains only one extant species, the Hula painted frog which is endemic to Israel and was originally classified in the genus Discoglossus, though several fossil species are known from the Paleogene and Neogene periods spanning across Europe.
Extinct or Alive is an American wildlife documentary television programme produced for Animal Planet by Hot Snakes Media of New York City, the United States. It is hosted by conservationist and television personality Forrest Galante, who travels to different locations around the globe to learn about possibly extinct animals and whether or not there is a chance that they may still be extant. The series has been involved in the possible rediscovery of eleven animals, namely the Zanzibar leopard, the Pondicherry shark, the Fernandina Island Galápagos tortoise, the Miller's grizzled langur, the Cape lion, the Malagasy hippopotamus, the Yangtze giant softshell turtle, Rio Apaporis caiman, Whitetip weasel shark, Ornate sleeper-ray and the Flapnose houndshark.
Additional data and discoveries were published in Haaretz newspaper on 15/04/2016
Among the discoveries are Tadpole data, which is very small, up to 2.5 cm, and becomes even smaller as adult, the largest adult caught was 13 cm long which suggest it was several decades old. Also sound was first noticed and it is a very weak one.