Two new species of moss frog discovered

  • Author(s)
    Dr Jodi Rowley
  • Category
    Science
  • Published
    16 November 2011
  • Read time
    2 minutes

Southeast Asian amphibians are both poorly known and highly threatened. That's the biggest reason that my colleagues and I spend weeks searching the montane forests of the region, discovering and documenting the amazing diversity of the amphibians found there. It's a vital first step towards amphibian conservation in the region. 

Habitat of the Misty Moss Frog, Theloderma nebulosum
Habitat of the Misty Moss Frog, Theloderma nebulosum. This species was discovered by Australian Museum scientist Dr Jodi Rowley and colleagues at the University of Science - Ho Chi Minh City, the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources and Vinh University. The species is named after its habitat- mist-shrouded forest on the moutains of the Kon Tum Plateau, Vietnam. Image: Jodi Rowley
© Jose Rowley/Australian Museum

Our most recent discoveries are two small moss frogs (genus Theloderma). Moss frogs are called moss frogs because they generally have bumpy skin and are camouflaged as greenish moss or brownish tree bark (and there's also one that looks like bird poo...). Such camouflage is handy when you live in mossy trees in the forest and are likely very tasty to an array of forest predators such as snakes and birds.

The new species are small (<3 cm body length), have effective camouflage and spend most of their time up trees, making them pretty tricky to spot in the forest at night, which is probably one of the reasons they have remained undiscovered until now. That and the fact that reaching their habitat often involves a rather arduous, near-vertical trek up a mountain!

The Misty Moss Frog Theloderma nebulosum (below) is named after it's mist-shrouded habitat on the Kon Tum Plateau, in Vietnam (above). Although located in the tropics, its habitat is so cold at night that we found it impossible to sleep (not that amphibian biologists sleep at night...).

Misty Moss Frog Theloderma nebulosum
The Misty Moss Frog Theloderma nebulosum was discovered by Australian Museum scientist Dr Jodi Rowley and colleagues at the University of Science - Ho Chi Minh City, the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources and Vinh University. The species is named after its habitat- mist-shrouded forest on the moutains of the Kon Tum Plateau, Vietnam. Image: Jodi Rowley
© Jodi Rowley/Australian Museum

The Cloaked Moss Frog Theloderma palliatum is named after its ability to change from a dull, mottled brown (below) to a bold, high-contrast pattern (further below - the same individual!). Quite a magic trick (or uncloaking, if you will)!

Cloaked Moss Frog Theloderma palliatum
The Cloaked Moss Frog Theloderma palliatum was discovered by Australian Museum scientist Dr Jodi Rowley and colleagues at the University of Science - Ho Chi Minh City, the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources and Vinh University. The species, known only from high-elevation forest on the Langbian Plateau in Vietnam, is named after its ability to change from a dull brownish colour to reveal this bold, high-contrast pattern. Image: Jodi Rowley
© Jodi Rowley/Australian Museum
Cloaked Moss Frog Theloderma palliatum
The Cloaked Moss Frog Theloderma palliatum was discovered by Australian Museum scientist Dr Jodi Rowley and colleagues at the University of Science - Ho Chi Minh City, the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources and Vinh University. The species, known only from high-elevation forest on the Langbian Plateau in Vietnam, is named after its ability to change from a dull brownish colour to reveal this bold, high-contrast pattern. Image: Jodi Rowley
© Jodi Rowley/Australian Museum

Both new species are likely to occur in relatively small areas of high-elevation forest on the Kon Tum plateau (Misty Moss Frog) and Langbian plateau (Cloaked Moss Frog) and are vulnerable to threats such as habitat loss and over-collection (moss frogs are popular in the international pet-trade). Both regions contain high amphibian diversity and many unique amphibians that occur nowhere else- truly special areas that thankfully contain a number of important protected areas.

Read more about the amphibian research and conservation carried out by the research team here. See the abstract of the scientific publication describing the new species here.