This Week In Frog: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

— Photo from Flickr user bgv23 under Creative Commons

The Good

Thanks to pesticides, invading bullfrogs, nonnative diseases, and the loss of wetlands, the northern leopard frog may warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act in 18 western states, according to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announcement that's scheduled for today.

The Bad

National Geographic reports that the "mating between the rare California tiger salamander and the introduced barred tiger salamander has created a monster." The combination of native and nonnative species seems to be the worst pairing since ligers. As a result of these new creatures, biodiversity is taking a major hit in the ponds of California's Salinas River Valley. The new superpredator grows larger than either of its parent species, so "its bigger mouth enables it to suck up a wide variety of amphibian prey." This spells certain trouble for frogs who have difficulty competing against larger salamanders.

The Ugly Salamander

Check out this National Geographic video that shows a bunch of new species that were recently observed in an isolated Ecuadorian forest, including the transparent glass frog and the E.T.-like "ugly salamander":

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