They discover a new species of frog in Ecuador and in the …

Ecuadorian scientists have discovered a new species of frog of “shocking red eyes” and they baptized her Led Zeppelin, in homage to the British rock group. The amphibian measures between 2.4 and 3.6 centimeters and has been found in the Amazonian province of Zamora Chinchipe.

Two scientists from the Museum of Zoology of the Private University of San Francisco in Quito, David Brito and Carolina Reyes, collected three specimens of the new species Pristimantis ledzeppelin. It was in the community of Río Blanco, in the Amazonian province of Zamora Chinchipe.

This week, his research was published in the trade journal Neotropical Biodiversity. “We are rock music lovers and this band in particular”Brito explained the name with which they baptized the new species, a tribute to the British group which reached its peak in the 70s.

Reyes, for his part, indicated that with this striking name, they intend to “promote the conservation of the Ecuadorian Andes by taking this species as a flag”. “This is the first time that we have put a name that does not refer to something related to the locality or to Ecuador or to a person who has influenced”added the researcher, who in six years of work has described twenty species of amphibians for science.

It is a “super pretty” frog because “it has the red eyes and the color pattern differs slightly between men and women “, described Brito. “Some males have white reticulations that look like stripes, between shades of brown, black. These are very dark tones mixed with yellow,” he added.

Although the first thing that caught his eye were the frog’s eyes, he had seen specimens with this characteristic before. What ended up defining that it was a new species was rather its size and colors. “It’s pretty attractive,” Brito said.

For now, the Cutin species of Led Zeppelin (common name) is considered endemic to the Cordillera del Cóndor, a mountain range east of the main body of the Eastern Andes and with rich flora and fauna.

Although more studies should be done on the ecology of the species, the Pristimantis Led Zeppelin is considered threatened due to the fact that in their habitat activities of animal husbandry, agriculture and mining. In Ecuador, “we have many species to describe. It’s a race against time because of the threats they face,” Reyes said in this regard.