Andrea Adams, University of California, Santa Barbara
Amphibians have been devastated by a chytrid fungus pandemic. Researchers immunized California red-legged frogs in Yosemite to give them a fighting chance at survival, with surprising results.
Invasive alien species are a growing concern for both the environment and economy.
Shutterstock
Habitat protection and restoration, advanced reproductive technologies and reintroduction procedures could help slow the decline of western chorus frogs and other amphibians.
Our research is countering some previous ideas about what factors might slow down ageing. Further study could help us create targeted treatments in humans too.
A dead Peron’s tree frog (Litoria peronii)
Ken Griffiths
Reptiles get a bad rap, but this is because they’re misunderstood. Promoting healthy reptile pet ownership can contribute to conservation and education efforts.
Brookesia tedi, described in 2019, is one of the smallest chameleons, and indeed one of the smallest amniote vertebrates, on earth.
Mark D. Scherz
Madagascar stands out as an exceptionally interesting place in which to study the evolution of “mini” creatures. And we are only just starting to scratch the surface of this.
The Bsal fungus is not yet here in North America, or any place in the Western Hemisphere, but there is concern that the pet trade is the most likely route for introduction here.
Peretti Museum Foundation / Illustration by Stephanie Abramowicz
Joseph Bevitt, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
If albanerpetontids were around today, they’d easily fit in your hand. And although their bones are found all over the world, these unique amphibians eluded experts for a long time.
Social media has proved to be a helpful source of observations of snakes feeding. Knowing more about their diet is useful because it’s linked to their venom biochemistry.
Anatolian water frogs (Pelophylax spp) could become locally extinct in parts of Turkey due to over-harvesting as food.
Kerim Çiçek
Frogs are harvested as food by the millions every year. A new study shows that uncontrolled frog hunting could drive some populations to extinction by midcentury.
Many frogs, such as the red-eyed tree frog, are sought-after pets.
Andy Morffew/Wikimedia Commons
People sometimes release pets into the wild, resulting in biological invasions.
The horned land frog (Sphenophryne cornuta) carries babies on its back. New Guinea must be protected from the deadly chytrid fungus, or we could see around 100 frog species be wiped out.
The island of New Guinea is home to 6% of the world’s frogs, but if the deadly chytrid fungus invades it could cause a mass extinction.
The Mossy Red-eyed Frog is among hundreds of species threatened with extinction at the hands of chytrid fungus.
Jonathan Kolby/Honduras Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Center
Chytrid fungus has caused declines in 501 amphibian species, according to a new analysis. Most of the damage happened in the 1980s, before the fungus itself was even discovered.
Some tropical frogs may be developing resistance to a fungus that has devastated species like Atelopus varius, the variable harlequin frog.
Brian Gratwicke/Wikimedia