[imagesource: Trond Larsen/Conservational International]

You’re looking deep into the eyes of a Mercedes robber frog, which is more formally known as a Yunganastes mercedesae.

It’s just one of the headline species encountered during a 14-day expedition, co-led by Trond Larsen of the non-profit environmental group Conservation International, to the Zongo Valley region of the Bolivian Andes.

The Mercedes robber frog was not a previously undiscovered species, but is extremely rare, having been seen only a handful of times in the past.

There are an estimated 8,7 million known animal species on Earth, and the expedition above has now added another 20 to that list.

In addition to discovering new species, there were also sightings of plants and animals that scientists had not seen for decades.

Here’s CNN:

Located near the Bolivian capital of La Paz, Zongo Valley is known as the “heart” of the region. High up steep, rugged mountains are an array of well-preserved habitats, which are thriving with lush biodiversity.

It was among the cloud forests that researchers discovered the “mountain fer-de-lance” viper, “Bolivian flag snake” and “lilliputian frog,” as well as glorious orchids and butterfly species.

Image: Trond Larsen/Conservation International

“[In Zongo] the noises you hear are from nature — all sorts of insects, frogs and birds calling, wonderful rushing sounds and cascades of waterfalls. Everything is covered in thick layers of moss, orchids and ferns,” Larsen tells CNN.

I’m officially incredibly jealous of this trip, which actually took place back in March 2017, but new species take a while to verify.

Let’s rifle through some of those, with the help of Earther.

The Lilliputian Frog

Image: Steffen Reichle

The Lilliputian frog, known in biologist-ese as the Noblella, got its name for being super teeny tiny. This guy is only 0.4 inches (1 centimeter) long, which is half the width of a penny. They may be the smallest amphibians in the Andes, and among the smallest in the world…

“We heard many of them calling in the forest, but as soon as we got close to them, they would stop calling and would then be virtually impossible to find due to their tiny size and camouflage,” Trond said in an email.

Nice.

It’s no Western leopard toad, but it’s not a competition, guys.

Bolivian Flag Snake

Image: Trond Larsen/Conservational International

The Bolivian flag snake, technically called the Eutrachelophis, had never been observed by researchers. The team found this one in the thick undergrowth of forest that sits at the crest of the area the researchers explored. The snake was slithering along the ground among some dense fern plants.

What a beauty.

Morpho butterfly caterpillar

Image: Trond Larsen/Conservation International

This one isn’t a new species, either, and has long been sought after by tourists and collectors due to its bright colours.

The expedition was the first time it’s been observed in the wild by scientists, though.

We’ll throw another snake into the mix – observe the extremely venomous mountain fer-de-lance viper, which was previously unknown to science:

Then there’s the satyr butterfly, which hadn’t been seen in all of 98 years:

The species is only known to occur in and around the Zongo Valley, with researchers tempting it out of hiding using rotten fruit and dung.

Finally, let’s observe the wonderfully named Catesby’s snail sucker:

No prizes for guessing that it is specialised to feed on snails and slugs.

Overall, the number of species counted during the expedition included more than 1 200 plants, 247 insects, 10 amphibians, 10 reptiles, 161 birds, nine small terrestrial mammals, nine large mammals, and 12 species of bats.

You can find out more about some of the other species discovered here.

[sources:cnn&earther]