Hyperolius cf. pusillus One of the most exciting parts of working in biologically diverse and understudied areas such at the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania is finding new species! However, it can often be a very confusing process to decide if something is truly new. In reality, we often end up listing these as "cf. somethingsomething" which comes from the Latin word "conferre" meaning “compare to” or “confer.” For instance, this little guy is currently listed as Hyperolius cf. pusillus. While these frogs look something like H. pusillus, their call is different and they are found in the wrong habitat and in the wrong region of the country - thus we think they aren't really H. pusillus at all! Now begins the long hard work of describing a new species.
The first step of describing a new species is figuring out what it ISN'T. Figuring out what it isn't requires us to compare this frog to other similar frogs to determine if we can rule them out. In modern herpetology, we employ a wide variety of techniques to characterize a species and sample a number of individuals in order to understand within-species variation in relation to between-species variation. We take morphological measurements of every aspect of these little frogs, we document coloration and variation (some species are hyper-variable even within a single clutch of eggs), we record calls, we sample DNA, and we document habitat type and distribution. Finally, we take all of this information into account and compare to all other similar species - noting ways in which they are similar and ways in which the differ.
The first step of describing a new species is figuring out what it ISN'T. Figuring out what it isn't requires us to compare this frog to other similar frogs to determine if we can rule them out. In modern herpetology, we employ a wide variety of techniques to characterize a species and sample a number of individuals in order to understand within-species variation in relation to between-species variation. We take morphological measurements of every aspect of these little frogs, we document coloration and variation (some species are hyper-variable even within a single clutch of eggs), we record calls, we sample DNA, and we document habitat type and distribution. Finally, we take all of this information into account and compare to all other similar species - noting ways in which they are similar and ways in which the differ.
Hyperolius howelli Hyperolius frogs are a particularly difficult genus to work in because the ways in which they vary between species change a lot throughout their phylogenetic tree. In some groups of Hyperolius, many different species of frogs look incredibly similar and thus multiple lines of evidence are necessary to understand which are different species and which aren't (e.g., Hyperolius nasutus/acuticeps complex - preliminary clarification in Channing et al. 2013). See the picture on the left of H. howelli, a member of this complex named after one of the modern giants of East African Herpetology Dr. Kim Howell from the University of Dar es Salaam.
Variation within Hyperolius substriatus. Other species have incredible variation within single populations and throughout their ranges, such as Hyperolius substriatus found throughout mid-elevation forests in East Africa (right). Though challenging when doing biodiversity surveys, new species are incredibly exciting and incredibly valuable for conservation planning. When formulating a plan for conservation, if scientists can clarify that three species with small ranges exist instead of one broadly distributed species, for instance, then conservation biologists can create more targeted action plans for these vulnerable species.
-Lucinda Lawson
-Lucinda Lawson
RSS Feed