Discovery in Peru of a new species of marsupial frog

There is a new member in the family of Gastrotheca, these amazing marsupial frogs, whose geographical distribution ranges from Costa Rica to northern Argentina.

Discovered in the Peruvian region of the Amazonas, on the border with Ecuador, Gastrotheca mittaliiti presents the same “fascinating” feature as its close relatives: “the females have a sort of pouch on their back where they carry their young,” observed Infobae.

A characteristic that arouses “keen interest within the scientific community and makes these species a subject of study for evolutionary and biological research,” the site specifies.

Miniature Frog

This new bright green species also has several distinctive physical characteristics, such as its rough skin covered in small protuberances, prominent folds, and body structure.

It is also notable for its tiny size: the males measure between 2.7 and 3.3 centimeters. All of these characteristics were “decisive in its classification as a new species” by researchers from the National University Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza, whose work was published in the journal Zootaxa.

This discovery not only enriches the catalog of species in Peru but also shows that “the high-altitude ecosystems of the Andes still harbor a great richness of unknown organisms,” noted Infobae.