Amphibian Milestone - 7000 Species

This new species of high-altitude glass frog, 
Centrolene sabini, in the amphibian family of
 Centrolenidae, was discovered by Allessandro 
Catenazzi in the cloud forest of Peru's Manu 
National Park at an elevation of nearly 
10,000 feet. This Peruvian glass frog tadpole, 
Centrolene sabini, was hatched from eggs
laid on the surface of a leafin Peru's Manu 
National Park.. Photo: Alessandro Catenazzi / SF

The total number of amphibian species reached 7,000  on Monday, July 31 2012. The 7000th known amphibian is a new glassfrog from Peru, Centrolene sabini (Catenazzi et al 2012), which was discovered at high elevations in Manu National Park, Peru. Glassfrogs have increased from 65 in 1985 to 152 known today, illustrating the paradoxical phenomenon of amphibian discovery during a time of great concern for amphibians. In June 2012, IUCN reported 41% of amphibian species at risk of extinction. Yet, the number of known amphibian species has increased dramatically, from 4,013 in 1985 to 7,000.

Citation
ALESSANDRO CATENAZZI, RUDOLF VON MAY, EDGAR LEHR, GIUSSEPE GAGLIARDI-URRUTIA  & JUAN M. GUAYASAMIN. 2012. A new, high-elevation glassfrog (Anura: Centrolenidae) from Manu National Park, southern Peru. Zootaxa  3388: 56–68