New species of poison frog discovered in Amazonian slopes of Andes in southeastern Peru

Scientists have discovered a new species of poison frog on the Amazonian slopes of the Andes in southeastern Peru.

The species was found in just nine locales in the buffer zones of Manu National Park and the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve, at the transition between montane forests and the lowlands, from 340 to 850 meters (1,115 to 2,788 feet) above sea level.

The species is commonly known as the Amarakaeri poison frog. Its scientific name is Ameerega shihuemoy — with the species name, shihuemoy, being the native Harakmbut word for “poison dart frog.” The Amarakaeri are an indigenous people from Amazonian Peru; their language belongs to the Harakmbut linguistic group.

“We wanted to highlight the existence of this area for the world when we named this species,” Jennifer Serrano, the lead author of a paper describing the species in the journal Zootaxa, told Mongabay.

The region that the Amarakaeri poison frog calls home is considered one of the most biodiverse on the planet for herpetofauna, but it is also threatened by human activities, including agriculture, gold mining, logging, and an illegally -read more