Latest news with #frogs
CBC
18-05-2025
- Science
- CBC
Is it a bird? A bug? Nope, just a spring peeper
The chorus of chirps and peeps fill the evenings each year — and it's a sure sign of spring. But what is making the noise? It's a type of frog called a spring peeper. Widely distributed in eastern North America, including New Brunswick, the spring peeper is only about three to four centimetres long, with females being a bit bigger than males, explained John Klymko, a zoologist with the Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre in Sackville. "They're far more conspicuous with their vocalizations than they are visually," he said. "They're a hard species to find. They live in wooded areas, thickets, that sort of thing, around water bodies." At night, Klymko said they can be spotted around water bodies. He said their peeps will quiet down when you approach, but you can see them by their shining eyes. And on warm, wet nights, they might be found crossing roadways. It's much easier, though, to listen for their vocalizations to be aware of their presence, said Klymko. He said the frogs have a vocal pouch, which looks like a balloon, that expands under their chin and amplifies the noise that's produced by pushing air through slits in their mouth. They make two types of sounds. The primary one, said Klymko, is the classic peep noise that males use to draw females in with the hope of mating. Another sound is a short trill that happens when two males interact with each other. "It's just males making the sound," he said. "Some males don't vocalize. They'll hang out near males that are vocalizing and try to intercept females that are coming in, drawn to those calls. "When you think about the abundance of these frogs at a water body, realize that, you know, you're hearing less than half of the frogs out there." For those interested in hearing the springtime peeps, it's best to listen now before the frogs disperse in early June, said Klymko.
Daily Mail
21-04-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Man infected by one of 'world's largest human parasites' after eating raw fish from a lake in India
A 35-year-old Indian man who couldn't urinate learned his problem was being caused by a parasitic worm growing inside him. Disturbing images published by medics who treated the man show the red worm after it emerged out of his bladder, alive and wriggling. Analysis revealed the worm belonged to a species called Dioctophyma renale, commonly known as the 'giant kidney worm'. Interviews with the patient revealed that he commonly ate raw fish from a lake near his home, and medics suspect this was likely how he became infected. Eating raw or undercooked fish is a known way for humans to become infected as these animals can carry the worm larvae inside their bodies. Medics, who treated the unnamed man in the city of Meerut, India, said he came into hospital in June 2015 complaining of being unable to urinate and suffering a fever. Staff who examined his vital signs found he was pale and had an elevated heart rate. Doctors - suspecting he had an infection - admitted him to hospital and gave him antibiotics. They also inserted a catheter - a soft flexible tube that empties urine into a plastic bag - to help empty his bladder. However, on his second day in hospital the patient alerted staff to the presence of a wriggling worm - and some blood - in the catheter bag. A report, published in the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, details that the 'blood red' worm was 11.8in long with a diameter of 0.13in and had anatomical features identifying it as a male giant kidney worm. The man was lucky that he hadn't been infected with a female specimen as these can grow over 3ft. Medics continued to analyze the man's urine for the next three days but found no additional worms or any traces of any eggs. The man also revealed to medics he had urinated a few of the worms in the past. Concluding their report the authors said the man, after a short period of treatment, left hospital against medical advice so they were unable to follow-up his care. Human infection of giant kidney worm, medically called dioctophymiasis, is very rare. A 2019 review by Chinese researchers only found 37 human cases recorded in medical literature, some being infected with as many as 15 worms. While half of patients had a history of eating raw or undercooked fish or frogs, the potential transmission route was unknown for the remaining half. Drinking un-boiled water where these animals reside is also a potential transmission route. Once in the human body the worm larvae migrate to the kidney where they then grow into adult worms and can live for up to five years. They can cause issues like blocking the flow of urine to the bladder, kidney swelling, and tissue death. Treatment varies depending on the extent of the infection and how much of the kidney has been damaged. Minor cases can be treated with medication, but more serious infections can require surgery, including potentially removal of the entire kidney. Medics have noted that due to its rarity dioctophymiasis is often misdiagnosed among patients. Human infection with giant kidney worm is rare with the parasite more commonly found in carnivorous mammals like dogs, otters, and weasels.
Miami Herald
06-03-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
Hikers follow map of 1893 expedition — and rediscover a creature not seen since then
A Frenchman with a fascination for bugs. The 'controversial' writings of a 93-year-old scientist. A map reconstructed from an 1893 expedition. The rediscovery of 'one of the rarest and most elusive amphibians' in Chile is quite a tale. Philibert Germain, a scientist studying insects, visited a large estate in southern Chile in December 1893. He arrived at the landowner's house then hiked along the river, collecting wildlife specimens as he went. Among Germain's collections were three frogs, which he sent to Rudolph Philippi, 'one of the most important naturalists of Chile during the 19th century,' according to a study published March 6 in the peer-reviewed journal ZooKeys. Philippi spent over 50 years studying countless aspects of Chile's environment before his death in 1904. Near the end of his very long life, he finished a paper classifying 'an excessively high number' of snake and amphibian species. Germain's frog collections were included in the paper and identified as Alsodes vittatus, or the Malleco spiny-chest frog. But here the trail goes cold. Follow-up surveys in the 1990s and early 2000s searched for the Malleco spiny-chest frog but couldn't find it, the study said. The Chilean government eventually classified the species as critically endangered but many considered the species 'lost,' giving it the distinction of being one of the country's 'rarest and most elusive' amphibians. None of this deterred Claudio Correa, an amphibian researcher at the University of Concepción. Correa painstakingly reconstructed the route of Germain's 1893 expedition and realized that past surveys had been starting on the wrong side of the estate, according to a 2024 news release from the university. A team of researchers set out to follow Germain's original route, the study said. During their hikes in 2023 and 2024, they found what they were looking for: several populations of Malleco spiny-chest frogs. Photos show the rediscovered species. Some of the olive-green and brown frogs have a stripe running straight down their backs, while others have a faded stripe or no clear stripe at all. Researchers quickly realized that the rediscovery of the Malleco spiny-chest frog created more questions than answers: How come Philippi describes the frogs as 'intense black'? Why do the frogs vary so drastically in color and pattern? Are these frogs even a distinct species? More data, DNA analyses and research will be needed to answer these questions, the study said. But if anything is certain it's that the tale of the Malleco spiny-chest frog is far from over. The research team included Correa, Edvin Riveros-Riffo and Juan Donoso. The team first announced their findings in April 2024 but only recently published a study on the topic. Google Translate was used to translate the news release from the University of Concepción.
