Researchers find world's smallest fanged frog on Indonesian island

On planet Earth, there are over 6,000 species of frogs worldwide and scientists continue to search for new ones. Just like snakes, some of the frogs have fangs, but they don't bite.

There is also no evidence that they inject venom into a person's body, but experts have said that some large frogs use their fangs to shred the hard shells of their prey, or to keep other frogs at bay.

Now in a new study, a team of researchers have found a new species of frog (Limnonectes phyllofolia) with the smallest fangs ever recorded.

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They have earned the name "leaf-nester" because, unlike most frogs, they do not lay their eggs in water.The study suggests that these leaf-nesters build their nests on tree leaves or moss-covered stones far from water.

As quoted by Eurekalert, Jeff Frederick, who is a postdoctoral researcher at the Field Museum in Chicago, "This new species is tiny compared to other fanged frogs on the island where it was found, about the size of a quarter."

Frederick the study's lead author, who also conducted the research as a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Berkeley stated: "Many frogs in this genus are giant, weighing up to two pounds. At the large end, this new species weighs about the same as a dime."

A team from the McGuire Lab at Berkeley collaborated with the Bogor Zoology Museum For the study. They found the frogs on Sulawesi, which is a rugged, mountainous island that makes up part of Indonesia.

Frederick said, "It's a giant island with a vast network of mountains, volcanoes, lowland rainforest, and cloud forests up in the mountains. The presence of all these different habitats means that the magnitude of biodiversity across many plants and animals we find there is unreal – rivaling places like the Amazon."

What makes this discovery even more interesting is the way this frog species was found.

While hiking through the forest, the researchers found frog egg nests on the leaves of tree saplings. It was like moss-covered boulders.

Frogs are amphibians and they lay eggs encased in jelly rather than a hard, protective shell. Most amphibians deposit their eggs in water to prevent the eggs from drying out. However, the leaf-nester kept the eggs on the leaves. While analysing the eggs, they saw the brown frogs also.

Frederick said: "Normally when we're looking for frogs, we're scanning the margins of stream banks or wading through streams to spot them directly in the water. After repeatedly monitoring the nests though, the team started to find attending frogs sitting on leaves hugging their little nests."

The frog parents may coat them with substances that keep them wet and free of bacterial and fungal infections because they are so close to their eggs.

(With inputs from agencies)