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Pea-Size Frog Found in Borneo

Tiny amphibian lives in carnivorous plants

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 26, 2010 4:08 AM CDT

(Newser) – The smallest frog ever discovered outside the Americas has been found dwelling inside a carnivorous plant in the jungles of Borneo. The tiny amphibians, just under half an inch long, were discovered by chance by researchers making their way up a mountain road. They tracked the pea-size frog by following its harsh, rasping call, the Christian Science Monitor reports.

The frogs live their entire lives in and around one of Borneo's many species of pitcher plants, which consume ants and other insects, but don't harm the frogs or their eggs. The researchers say specimens of the frogs can be found in several museums, but they were mistakenly thought to be juveniles of a different species instead of adults.

Microhyla nepenthicola, a newly discovered species of frog, lives in the jungle on Borneo island in Malaysia.
Microhyla nepenthicola, a newly discovered species of frog, lives in the jungle on Borneo island in Malaysia.   (AP Photo/Indraneil Das)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 10 comments
DGCA
Aug 26, 2010 4:24 PM CDT
:-3 So cute.
vjh
Aug 26, 2010 1:58 PM CDT
I hope the scientists don't throw it in the garbage... as a joke...
schmidtkoff
Aug 26, 2010 10:35 AM CDT
one of the few things i like about south carolina is aboundance of frogs and toads. after a drenching rains the frog voices are deafining. the voice of the sheep frog is endearing, they look more like toads than frogs, but no matter. the little tree frogs always manage to find their way indoors. i scoop them up and return them to their habitat for clearly they are not happy in mine. as it should be. i have 4 containers of sarracenia (pitcher plants). one day i was checking them out and looked down and there was a little frog, about an inch long just waiting for some hapless insect to be lured into the tube and ultimately into the interloper's mouth. lol. nature is so wonderful.

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