By Megan Gannon, News Editor | January 21, 2014 11:06am ET
It was hiding on Peru's forest floors, with a body camouflaged to look like dead leaves.
A new
species of toad, calledRhinella yunga after the habitat where it was found, was discovered by scientists in a stretch of mountainous forests along the eastern slopes of the Andes known as the Peruvian Yungas. (The Quechuan word "yungas" means "warm valley.")
species of toad, calledRhinella yunga after the habitat where it was found, was discovered by scientists in a stretch of mountainous forests along the eastern slopes of the Andes known as the Peruvian Yungas. (The Quechuan word "yungas" means "warm valley.")
It seems that Rhinella yunga toads had been lumped in with another species, Rhinella margaritifera, until scientists discovered a group that mysteriously lacked eardrums. Further investigation proved it was a genetically distinct species.
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