New pumpkin toadlet species found and it secretly glows in the dark Sofia Quaglia
It’s orange, fluorescent, and the size of a thumbnail. Meet the newly discovered amphibian
Brachycephalus rotenbergae, a type of pumpkin toadlet found in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest.
The animal belongs to a family of at least 36 pumpkin toadlets, which are named after the popular Halloween squash. Like poison dart frogs, their vibrant color is likely a signal to predators that their skin carries a potentially deadly toxin.
The new species, described recently in the journal
PLOS ONE, was found during an extensive research effort across Brazil to find new pumpkin toadlets. Identifying the creatures is crucial to conserving Brazil’s biodiversity, especially in species-rich areas such as the Atlantic Forest, which has lost 93 percent of its original cover due to deforestation and agriculture, experts say.