Mad Science.
The latest cool reptile research from around the globe.
Frogz.
New research into two amazing species of frogs serves as a reminder of the incredible diversity to be found in the
Amazon rainforest. Lithodytes lineatus is a tiny, yellow-striped frog that lives in close association with aggressive leaf
-cutting ants (Atta spp.) with apparent impunity. The ants use chemical signatures, or pheromones, to recognise mem-
bers of their colony, and scientists from Brazil’s National Institute of Amazonian Research speculated that the frogs
were producing substances that mimicked these pheromones in order to be regarded as ‘friendly’.
In order to test this hypothesis, specimens of L. lineatus were confined with four other species of frogs in a glass
enclosure also containing leaf-cutting ants. While all the other frogs desperately attempted to escape the murderous
intentions of the ants, the L. lineatus remained relaxed and were not bothered in the slightest! Next, the researchers
divided 20 specimens of Rhinella major (a common Amazonian frog) into two groups. The first group was treated
with skin extract from L. lineatus, while purified water was applied to the second, control group. As predicted, the ants
ignored the first group, but attacked the second, confirming the presence of chemicals in the skin of L. lineatus which
are recognised by the ants and allow them to coexist peacefully.
Does this relationship confer the frogs some protection from potential predators? What’s in it for the ants? Researchers
believe that the ant nests may offer a stable microclimate that is beneficial for the frogs’ reproduction. Stay tuned for
the movie version of Frogz, although this story may have more in common with Medicine Man!
Laying bare its heart.
A new species of ‘glassfrog’ discovered in Ecuador is remarkable for completely different reasons. Glassfrogs are
members of the family Centrolenidae from Central and South America. These typically small, lime green, arboreal
frogs require slow-flowing streams for reproduction and males are often found calling from the underside of leaves,
which makes them very difficult to locate and goes partway to explaining why this new species has not been previ-
Lithodytes lineatus .Photo by Santiago Ron.
Source: Creative Commons
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/)