Frog Farming (1978)

Here is an old article from Mother Earth News on farming bullfrogs.

Herp Ringtones

ENature is offering a few wildlife ringtones, including some herp calls...

White Frogs

Some xanthic frogs were found in a British garden. (News source.)

Don't Eat the Frogs

The Cambodian government is trying to curb eating a national delicacy, fried frogs, so that the amphibians can protect the rice crops from insect pests. (News source.)

Lungless Frog

A rare aquatic frog, Barbourula kalimantanensis, from Borneo has been confirmed as the only known (so far) lungless frog. The frog "lives in cold, fast-flowing water, they noted, so loss of lungs might be an adaptation to a combination of factors: a higher oxygen environment, the species’s presumed low metabolic rate, severe flattening of their bodies that increases the surface area of their skin, and selection for negative buoyancy—meaning that the frogs would rather sink than float." (Eurekalert)

Frog Catching Tradition

Here is a fascinating profile on traditional frog catching in the Philippines.

Frog Breeding

Memphis Zoo is planning to breed the endangered Mississippi gopher frogs. (News source.)

How Fungus Kills Frogs

Recent research shows how, exactly, frogs are killed when infected with Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis fungus.

Frog Rediscovered

The Carrikeri Harlequin Frog (Atelopus carrikeri) has been rediscovered in Colombia. (News source.)

Frogs Against Diabetes

The South American paradoxical frog (Pseudis paradoxa) has compounds in its skin that may help medical researchers in the fight against diabetes. (News source.)

New Zealand Frogs

Maud Island frogs (a New Zealand endemic) have been found breeding in the wild for the first time. (News source.)

Frog Release

Taronga Zoo (Sydney, Australia) is releasing a number of boorolong frogs (the first bred in a zoo) back into the wild to help boost native population numbers. (News source.)

Big Fossil Frog

A 9-lb relative of today's horned frogs was found fossilized in Madagascar. With a 16-inch body size, it was far larger than modern species, found in South America. (News source.)

Frog Farming

Here is a fascinating profile of a Vietnamese frog farmer who started out small and has become a millionaire (VND) raising the amphibians.

New North American Frog

A recent study has described a new species, the Cajun chorus frog, Pseudacris fouquettei, from "Louisiana, Arkansas, western Mississippi, eastern Texas and Oklahoma and far southern Missouri." (News source.) (Color photo.) (Description abstract.)

Feast Over Frogs

Natauloa villagers on the Fiji island of Nairai saw their first frogs, as ten dead amphibians washed ashore after Cyclone Gene. They were planning to serve and eat them (thinking them a new type of fish) at a feast before the village spokesman found out and stopped them. They held the feast sans frogs. (News source.)

Frog Stories

A new shrub frog, called Philautus ochlandrae, has been described in the Western Ghats, Kerala, India. (News source.)

A dog in Hawaii may have died as the result of a poison-arrow frog encounter. Experts are uncertain, as the Hawaiian invasive shouldn't be as toxic as in its native habitat, but the dog might have been allergic. (News source.)

Invaders

First, the Cuban tree frog (Osteopilus septentrionalis) has found its way to northeastern Florida (Clay County). (News source.)

Second, a profile on the European wall lizard (Podarcis muralis) in Victoria, British Columbia. (News source.)

Frog Leg Fest

The 17th annual Fellsmere Frog Leg Festival in Florida drew thousands of people, and served up 7,000 pounds of frog legs and 3,000 pounds of gator tail. (News source.)

Victoria Frog Fences

$250,000 (Aus) has been spent building frog fencing along roads in Pakenham, Victoria, Australia, to protect growling grass frog breeding grounds. (News source.)

Volunteers Needed in NC

North Carolina WRC is looking for volunteers to join the Calling Amphibian Survey Program, to help map out frog/toad populations in the state. (News source.)

Bullfrogs in Oregon

Here's another article on the non-native bullfrog's impact on other species in Oregon. (News source.)

And on a similar topic, because bullfrogs are eating so many baby western painted turtles in Oregon, there are plans to raise the turtles in captivity for release after they are too big to be eaten. (News source.)

Mountain Yellow-Legged Frogs

A small population of mountain yellow-legged frogs in the San Gabriel Mountains (California), and less than 100 are believed to remain in the wild. Regulations set up by the Forest Service to protect the surrounding habitat are coming into contention with climbers who want to cross the area to reach a popular crag. (News source.)

Mountain Chicken Frogs

Mountain chicken frogs are being collected in captivity in Dominica to preserve the species after a population drop due to the chytrid fungus. (News source.)

Golden Mantella Project

A conservation effort to preserve two newly discovered populations of the golden mantella in Madagascar is receiving a boost from the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund. (News source.)

Habitat Splits Hurt Amphibians

"Habitat split," or "human-induced disconnection between habitats used by different life history stages of a species" was recently identified as a primary cause for the decline in amphibian species diversity in the Brazilian Atlantic forest. (News source.)

Frog Exhibit

St. Louis Zoo is putting in a new exhibit, Awesome Amphibians, to celebrate the AZA's 2008 "Year of the Frog." (News source.)

Elephants and Frogs

A study at Kruger National Park is looking at the effect elephants have on frog populations. (News source.)

Maui Coqui Project

The Maui Invasive Species Committee has a coqui eradication project in the works. (News source.)

European Frogs Threatened

Here is a study on European frog conservation, noting that some native species in western Europe are being threatened by an eastern European species, Rana ridibunda, that has invaded their territory.

Classic Dave Barry: Frogs in the News

Some humor from 1995.

Tree Frog Study

Some UK researchers are investigating the skin properties of tree frogs that bask in the sun. (News source.)

Thailand Frog Farm

Here is a brief profile on a 23-year old frog farm in Thailand, where over 10,000 frogs are raised in individual plastic bottles.

Goldfish Bringing Disease to UK Frogs

Goldfish bred in US farms and imported into the UK appear to be spreading red-leg disease. (News source.)

Amphibian Research

First, an article on research into frogs in Sri Lanka.

Also, some research into the occasional cross-breeding of spadefoot toad species.

Frog Fungus Cure

New Zealand scientists have discovered that chytrid-infested frogs dipped in Chloramphenicol (currently a human eye medication) are cured, and become resistant to the disease. (News source.)

Cricket Frogs vs Development

Development of an adult community near Glenmere Lake is running into problems, as a biologists says it could damage the northern cricket frog population there, which is considered endangered in New York state. (News source.)

Coqui Eradication Misfire

Plans to have Hawaiian school children collect bounties for collecting the invasive coqui treefrogs misfired when a couple of schools questioned their participation. (News source.)

Tree Frog Tape

Indian researchers have created a new sticky tape based on the toepads of a treefrog. The tiny channel-filled patterns allow the tape to be unstuck and reused, while being up to 30 times stickier than conventional tape. (News source.)

Xenopus Lab Husbandry

A Simpler Protocol for Care of Xenopus laevis in the Lab (online article)

Frog Legs recipe

Risotto with Frog Legs and Sweet Garlic Cream: recipe here.

Small Frog in India (But Not World's Smallest)

A small frog that ranges up to 14mm in length has been described from India. The species, Nyctibatrachus minimus, is described in Current Science. (News source.)

Also, another specimen of the endangered golden gecko (Calodactylodes sp.) has been discovered in India. (News source.)

Spotted Frog Release

1800 endangered Oregon spotted frogs will be released into British Columbia's Fraser Valley this month. (News source.)

Transparent Frogs

Japanese researchers have developed a strain of Rana japonica with pale transparent skin, allowing the organs to be seen as the frogs develop from tadpoles. (News source.)

Pacific Chorus Frogs

The San Francisco Zoo is reintroducing Pacific chorus frogs that it reared from eggs and tadpoles, into the west side of the city. (News source.)

Treefrog Rediscovered

UK zoologist Andrew Gray has rediscovered a small nocturnal treefrog, Isthomhyla rivularis, in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve, in Costa Rica. The frog hasn't been seen since the 1980s. (News source.)

Bullfrogs in Utah

Bullfrogs (illegal in Utah) have been found on a golf course and other locations in the Uinta Basin. (News source.)

Coqui Lawsuit

A Hawaiian business is suing a real estate company over a property that is infested with coquis, despite the original contract having full disclosure that the noisy little frogs were on the property. (News source.)

Yellow-Legged Frogs

Yellow-legged frogs are being surveyed and monitored in the Willamette Basin in Oregon, to determine their current status. (News source.)

India: Frog Smugglers

3000 frogs were recovered from an Assam smuggling operation. Other wildlife are also in peril from rising smuggling threats. (News source.)

Snakes vs Frogs

A few Australian frogs have toxins that will kill predatory snakes; those toxins break down a short time after the frog is dead, though, and some venomous snakes have learned to bite, kill, then sit back and wait until the frog is edible. (News source.)

New Golden Frog

A new golden dart frog has been discovered, endemic to "a 20 hectare area in Colombia’s Cundinamarca region." It was discovered by a group of youth under the Conservation Leadership Programme. Doesn't look like it has been scientifically described yet, but they are calling it the "golden frog of Supatá." (News source.)

Teflon Frog Antibiotics

A nonstick version of antibiotics found naturally in frog skins may be more effective at fighting bacteria. (News source.)

Frog Decline & the Chytrid Fungus

There are two online articles regarding the recent study published in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, on the chytrid fungus spreading among frog populations (and wiping them out) in the western US. First, on Mongabay, also on LiveScience.

Chinese Frog Poaching

Hunters are illegally taking tiger frogs and other species for the meat market, and Chinese researchers say this could lead to extinction for some species. (News source.)

Deformed Amphibians

Researchers suspect that there are several underlying reasons for frog deformities appearing nationwide. A recent study in New England shows that chemicals are a primary factor, while parasites and attacks by other frog tadpoles in crowded conditions may contribute elsewhere. (News source.)

Frog Enzyme Fights Tumors

Amphinase, an enzyme found in leopard frog eggs, targets and attacks tumor cells. UK researchers believe it has great potential, specifically for brain tumor treatment. (News source.)

Washington State Amphibian Upsets Editor

The approval of the Pacific chorus frog as State Amphibian of Washington state has upset one Washington state newspaper editor. He thinks such nominations are a waste of legislative time. Such nominations, of course, are routinely sponsored by school children (as was the Pacific chorus frog) to introduce them to and establish their interest in the political system. (News source.)

Cuban Tree Frogs in Florida

Cuban tree frogs are becoming more of a threat to Florida's native amphibians. An extension paper has been written on it by a Univ. of Florida assistant professor. (News source.)

Frog Legs: An Early Czech Delicacy

Archaeological evidence shows that frog legs were eaten by Czechs several thousand years ago. Bones of the hind limbs of male frogs (almost 900) were found in an excavation of kitchen remains near Prague. (News source.)

Frog Fall

Villagers in the Spanish village of El Rebolledo (in Alicante) reported thousands of tiny frogs ("the size of a fingernail") falling from the sky. A climatologist reported it was not uncommon for a whirlwind to suck up frogs from a body of water and deposit them elsewhere. (There is not enough detail to determine whether in fact any frogs fell from the sky, or if the villagers just assumed such upon being inundated with a large hatching season.) (News source.)