New To Science Blue-Striped Poison Frog Discovered In Brazil
An international team of scientists announced their recent discovery of a colorful new poison frog in a remote place deep in the Amazon rainforest.
Ranitomeya aetherea, a new poison frog species discovered in Brazil's Juruá River basin, an ... More under-sampled region. (Credit: A. T. Mônico / doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0321748)
Researchers from the Institute of Amazonian Research, in collaboration with a colleague from the National Museum of the Czech Republic, report they have discovered a new species of poison frog in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest. The National Institute of Amazonian Research, lovated in Manaus, is a public educational and research institution that was founded in 1952, with the purpose of furthering scientific knowledge of the Brazilian Amazon Region.
Despite possessing toxic skin alkaloids, poison frogs (Family: Dendrobatidae) have long been favorites because of their bright colors and patterns and their complex parental care behaviors. For these reasons, these tiny frogs are intensively studied, and this scientific attention has led to the discovery of a number of species that are new to science.
And yet, these frogs still possess many mysteries: for example, the genus Ranitomeya is comprised of only 16 species that we know about and further, no new Ranitomeya species have been discovered and described in more than a decade. This is even more puzzling when one learns that Ranitomeya species experienced a diversification burst around 4–6 million years ago (ref). Where are all these other species?
It is known that Ranitomeya species live in the northern part of South America, in the Andean foot-hills and in the Amazonian rainforest, and most of the currently recognized species are known to have a narrow geographic range (ref). Some of them appear to have low genetic variability and a conserved morphology (ref), whereas others have evolved multiple external color patterns. So recognizing new species is challenging.
Finding new species is also challenging. For example, the researchers flew in a small plane to remote site in Brazil, then embarked on a 10-hour boat trip into the Juruá River basin, followed by a long hike into the rainforest in the company of local guides who also worked alongside them. The team ended up in an area dominated by palm trees, when they heard and saw the new frog species.
The meandering Juruá River, a photo taken from the International Space Station.
The Juruá River basin, which contains some of the world's most pristine rainforest, is one of the least accessible and least sampled regions in all of Amazonia (ref). It is thought to harbor an unusually high diversity of vertebrates that are still unknown, protected by the region's remoteness and difficult terrain.
The team collected 26 individuals of the new frog species, including five tadpoles, and recorded the advertisement calls of seven male frogs. Its call was unique; consisting of 16 to 35 notes that lasts for eight to 16 milliseconds. Like most poison frogs, the adult frog is tiny; about the size of a human thumbnail.
DNA was isolated from the new frogs and analyzed, and as predicted, revealed a new species of Ranitomeya. The new frog was named Ranitomeya aetherea, a name inspired by its dominant marking – long, sky-blue lines along the length of its body. The word 'aetherea' comes from the Latin meaning 'heavenly,' after the sky blue color of the dorsal side of the frogs.
'In addition, we attribute this name to one's feeling of enchantment and delicacy when encountering these frogs, as if they were from outside this world,' write the study's the authors (ref).
Whilst still in the jungle during the rainy season of 2024, the researchers made detailed observations and recordings the frog's behavior in its natural habitat. They found the frogs were most active during the early and late parts of the day, although during the rainy season, they are active all day long. They also noted that the frogs tend to live among bananeira brava plants and often hide under fallen palm leaves.
It is not known if this new species is endangered, but the researchers pointed out that the Jurua River area is poorly studied overall, so more frogs could be found if the area is better explored. Unfortunately, the Juruá River Basin and its wildlife are facing multiple, growing threats to their continued existence, as are all places on this planet. And yet, the team hope that discoveries such as this beautiful new frog may offer 'a glimmer of hope' in our troubling times.
Esteban Diego Koch, Alexander Tamanini Mônico, Jussara Santos Dayrell, Anthony Santana Ferreira, Silionamã Pereira Dantas, Jiří Moravec, Albertina Pimentel Lima (2025). A remarkable new blue Ranitomeya species (Anura: Dendrobatidae) with copper metallic legs from open forests of Juruá River Basin, Amazonia, PLoS One 20(5):e0321748 | doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0321748
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