A team of scientists and researchers have discovered a previously-unknown species of dead-leaf toad in the mountains of the Peruvian Andes.
So-called because of its distinct colouration and shape, it is able to completely camouflage itself among the leaf litter on the floor of the montane forest region which it inhabits.
If it does somehow find itself under any sort of threat, it is also equipped with toxic glands on the top of it’s head. Here’s a picture of the little beauty.
It’s oficially called the ‘Rhinella Yunga’ after the Yungas, the montane forest ecoregion it lives in. Jiří Moravec, the lead author of the ‘ZooKeys’ paper in which the discovery was published, had this to say:
It appears that large number of still unnamed cryptic species remains hidden under some nominal species of the Rhinella margaritifera species group.
As amazing as this discovery may be, it comes with a pinch of regret. The Yungas, which represent the upper reaches of the Amazon rainforest, have experienced a sharp increase in deforestation in recent years, according to satellite data.
[Source : The Guardian]
