S2E5: A new species of underground frog with a nose like a tapir!

In this episode, Zoe interviews Germán Chávez, Associate Researcher at the Instituto Peruano de Herpetologia and the Centro de Ornitología y Biodiversidad in Lima, Peru.

His newly described frog is in the paper “A needle in a haystack: Integrative taxonomy reveals the existence of a new small species of fossorial frog (Anura, Microhylidae, Synapturanus) from the vast lower Putumayo basin, Peru” in the February 16th issue of the Journal of Evolutionary Systematics. (Link: https://evolsyst.pensoft.net/article/80281/element/8/4930//)

Germán describes the special adaptations of fossorial frogs, the epic journey he and his team took to collect their first specimens, and how this special little frog was named by its community.

To learn more about Dr. Chávez and his work, follow his institutions on Twitter: Instituto Peruano de Herpetologia (@IPHperu) and the Centro de Ornitología y Biodiversidad in Lima (@PeruCORBIDIteam).