NEW SPECIES DISCOVERY
Hyloscirtus tolkieni
WHAT IS IT?
Just a single individual of Hyloscirtus tolkieni, a stream tree frog, was found and captured during fieldwork, despite focused searches. However, it was enough for the authors of a ZooKeys paper to be able to describe it as a new species as it was distinct enough in its morphology from other species in the Hyloscirtus genus.
WHERE IS IT?
The species’ known distribution is limited to the place where it was found and captured – the southern eastern slopes of the Cordillera Oriental in the Río Negro-Sopladora National Park, Ecuador.
WHAT IS THE MEANING BEHIND THE SCIENTIFIC NAME?
The specific epithet ‘tolkieni’ is named in honour of author J R R Tolkien. Scientists say that the colours of the newly described species “evoke the magnificent creatures that seem to only exist in fantasy worlds”.
Find out more
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