In September 2018, three scientists — Nick Evans, Dylan Leonard, and Cormac Price — set out to explore the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands of Boston, South Africa.
Although they went looking for the elusive Bilbo’s rain frog (breviceps bagginsi), which researcher Les Minter named after a certain hobbit in 2003, they ended up stumbling upon something even more magical.
“A thunderstorm with heavy rains had just passed — perfect for rain frog activity,” Evans, a reptilian and amphibian specialist, recounted in a Facebook post on May 21.
“We pulled over on the side of the road after hearing rain frogs calling,” he continued. “We didn't notice the call being any different to the one on the frog app, at the time.”
“Rain frogs,” he pointed out, “are not easy to find.”
When they eventually pinpointed the distinct “chirping” sound of a rain frog’s call on the rain-slicked slope, they realized that it was slightly different from the hobbit-named species they were looking for.
“It looked like a Plaintive rain frog, yet the call was different to that,” he explained. “It sounded similar to Bilbo's, which is what they were, presumed to be, when first heard by herpetologist Marius Burger in 1999.”
“It turns out,” Evans exclaimed, “we were looking at a new species!”
Rain frogs are noteworthy for their large eyes, round, full-bellied bodies, and distinct downturned mouths, which give them a “grumpy looking” expression — and the newly discovered “Boston rain frog” is no different.
Despite their frowny faces, the meme-worthy amphibians are key to happy habitats. Their mere presence in an ecosystem is an indicator of strong environmental health, they serve as a critical food source for other animals in the food web, and keep invasive insect populations in check.
After taking extensive photos and recordings, the trio sent them off to the “rain frog man” himself, Minter, and South African frog expert Louis Du Preez.
When it came to officially introducing the new species to the taxonomical records, the species’ 2018 discovery was only just published in the African Journal of Herpetology on May 19.
Across Facebook and Instagram, the three scientists celebrated the frog’s long-awaited induction into the scientific record.
“Finally,” Evans said, “the Boston rain frog (Breviceps batrachophiliorum) has just recently been officially described!”
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Tangentially, the researchers pointed out that their new discovery did have an added implication — it drastically reduced the previously accepted population range of the Bilbo’s rain frog.
“We now know their range does not extend from where they do occur, Babanango, to the Midlands,” Evans said, adding that the “big range reduction” meant the species’ conservation status had jumped from Vulnerable to Critically Endangered.
Fortunately, expeditions like this have a silver lining. When the accuracy of a species' range and population size is updated, it means that conservationists are better positioned to protect it.
Evans wrapped his Facebook post by writing: “You just never know what you'll find when you're out in nature.”
Hear the Boston rain frog's distinct call:
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Header image via Nick Evans
