The newly-discovered species, Hyloscirtus tolkieni, belongs to the stream-breeding treefrog genus Hyloscirtus; its specific epithet, tolkieni, is in honor of the writer, poet, philologist, and academic John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (J.R.R. Tolkien, 1892-1973), creator of Middle-earth and author of fantasy works like ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings.’
Hyloscirtus is a distinct genus of riverine amphibians distributed from Costa Rica to Bolivia.
Commonly known as stream frogs, their genus currently includes 39 species.
Their life is closely linked to the pure rivers and streams in the mountain areas of the Andes.
The adults live in the riparian vegetation, and their tadpoles develop among the rocks of the rapid waters of the rivers.
“Hyloscirtus tolkieni has amazing colors, and it would seem that it lives in a universe of fantasies, like those created by J.R.R. Tolkien,” said Dr. Diego Cisneros-Heredia, director of the Museum of Zoology of the Universidad San Francisco de Quito and a researcher at the Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad.
“The truth is that the tropical Andes are magical ecosystems where some of the most wonderful species of flora, funga, and fauna in the world are present.”
“Unfortunately, few areas are well protected from the negative impacts caused by humans.”
“Deforestation, unsustainable agricultural expansion, mining, invasive species, and climate changes are seriously affecting Andean biodiversity.”
Hyloscirtus tolkieni occurs in the Río Negro-Sopladora National Park, on the eastern slopes of the Andes of southeastern Ecuador.
“For weeks, we explored different areas of the Río Negro-Sopladora National Park, walking from paramo grasslands at 3,100 m elevation to forests at 1,000 m,” said Dr. Juan Carlos Sánchez Nivicela, a researcher with the Museum of Zoology of the Universidad San Francisco de Quito and the Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad.
“We spotted a single individual of this new species of…
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