The Amphibian Foundation's Frog Blog

 #Ecnomiohyla #rabborum today in the #frogPOD This species hasn't been detected in the wild since 2007 and every year gets less likely that there are any more hiding out there. The story of this frog is incredibly sad and highlights the importance of #AmphibianConservation and what the global amphibian declines are telling us. #Ecnomiohylarabborum #AmphibianConservation #AmphibianConservationProgram #FrogsNeedOurHelp #SalamandersNeedourHelp #AtlantaBotanicalGardenConservation #EndangeredSpecies #AtlantaBG #FrogsOfInstagram #SalamandersOfInstagram #frogs #frog #salamanders #salamander #ribbit #CaptiveBreeding #CaptiveBred #ExSitu #InSitu #CaptiveAssuranceColony

  Pictured here is a frog which is believed to be the last of its kind - the Rabbs' Fringe-limbed Tree Frog. While his story is incredibly sad, it emphasizes the importance of conserving biodiversity and paying attention to what the global amphibian declines are trying to tell us. In collaboration with Zoo Atlanta, we tried to establish an assurance colony of Rabbs' Fringe- limbed Tree Frog (#Ecnomiohyla rabborum) in 2005 and were able to get them to lay eggs, but the tadpoles never completed metamorphosis. While this collaboration with the zoo was able to establish assurance colonies of many Panamanian species threatened with extinction, we were unsuccessful with E. rabborum. Ten years later, this frog has a powerful message - one that has been told in National Geographic (thanks to @joelsartore and PhotoArk); in Huffington Post (thanks to @leilanimunter) and next month, he will be featured in a major documentary by Louie Psihoyos called #RacingExtinction . The movie premi...

A few people recently have asked about the kind of research we do in the Amphibian Conservation Program @ ABG, so I thought I would answer in pictures. There are five major components of our program, but our first priority, and the reason the program started in the first place was to build and maintain #CaptiveAssuranceColonies of rare and endangered amphibians from the #neotropics and SE US. Initiative 1: Historically, we have worked with imperiled amphibian species from Costa Rica, Ecuador, Suriname, Chile and Panama and have been the first to breed many species of #GlassFrog ( #Centrolenidae ), Eyelash Marsupial Frog (#Gastrotheca), Pratt's Rocket Frog #Colostethus , Gaige's Rain Frog #Pristimantis , and one of the first to breed #Cruziohyla in captivity. One of our largest conservation efforts was our collaborative expedition to Panama in 2005 to rescue frogs from the emergent infectious disease - #chytrid (chytridiomycosis). This fungus attacks amphibians world wide and b...

via Instagram http://ift.tt/17jSGr4

It's a little difficult to see what's going on here, but there is a pair of Lemur Leaf Frogs (Agalychnis lemur) in amplexus in the frogPOD. They are both dangling from a leaf ...held up by one of the female's hind legs!

via Instagram http://ift.tt/1zPHGbM

via Instagram http://ift.tt/1AiBSN4

via Instagram http://ift.tt/1HmZNtr

The advertisement call of the last known Rabbs' Fringe-Limbed Tree Frog in captivity at the Atlanta Botanical Garden . This Panamanian species is believed to be extinct in the wild due to the emergent infectious amphibian disease chytridiomycosis , and hasn't been detected in the wild since 2007.

via Instagram http://ift.tt/1wFy3Aw

via Instagram http://ift.tt/1wcsERf

via Instagram http://ift.tt/1AjGq5v

via Instagram http://ift.tt/1vTjd5H

Rabbs' Fringe Limbed Tree Frog from central Panama. Only one remains — pictured above — a male who resides in the Garden's frogPOD. Photo by Joel Sartore, National Geographic. In June, Louie Psihoyos , Academy Award winning documentary film-maker for his movie  The Cove , was at the Garden with his crew to film our amphibian collections for his upcoming film Racing Extinction (@Extinction_OPS). The film, due out in 2015, brings awareness to the global extinction crisis, much like how his amazing documentary brought awareness to the plight of the dolphins in Japan. We were honored to be asked to contribute to this project, which will undoubtedly bring the extinction crisis — arguably effecting the amphibians most of all — to the awareness of the general public. To promote awareness of the extinction crisis and the upcoming film, a 30 story high visual saga was projected on the side of the UN building in NYC last weekend. The project is called #ProjectingChange. A video of...

Louie Psihoyos, documentary film-maker who was awarded an Oscar (best documentary) for his film 'The Cove', is completing a new documentary on the global endangered species crisis. Louie's own personal concerns for the environment are reflected in his film topics and in the founding of the Oceanic Preservation Society. The Cove brought awareness to the continued slaughter of dolphins in Taitzi Bay, which is estimated at over 20,000 dolphin/year. His next documentary will highlight the imperiled species from around the world. The amphibian component will feature our Amphibian Conservation Program and was filmed in the frogPOD. The frogPOD houses, in isolation from other amphibians, one of the rarest assemblages of amphibians — all rescued from a chytrid fungus outbreak in Central Panama in 2005. Not the most spacious of places to film, but it worked. I will be sure to post when the movie is released. Here are some pictures from the filming. Joel Sartore, Nation Geogr...

Me showing Corentiss J, from Burgess Peterson Elementary School some of Panamanian frogs  Most kids like frogs (I know I did) but Corentiss' fascination reminded me of ... well, me!