Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot but, according to David Vieites of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) in Madrid and his colleagues, it may be even hotter than we think.
They sequenced the DNA of 2,850 amphibian specimens collected from more than 170 locations on the island. Analysis of these sequences suggests that at least another 129 amphibians remain to be described on Madagascar, including the frog pictured above.
At a maximum, the authors say, there may be 221 species missing from current records. This would represent an increase of almost 100% on the 244 described so far and an increase of 250% since 1991.
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Conservation: Amphibian additions. Nature 459, 143 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/459143d
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/459143d
