Insert generic frog photo here! A fascinating article discusses how rapid DNA sequencing has confirmed the existence (and hinted at the secretive habits) of a rare frog from Brazil, Megaelosia bocainensis. Thought to have gone extinct in 1968, the endangered frog (more precisely, its DNA) was recently rediscovered by the use of “metabarcoding” which focuses on taking DNA samples (using very non-invasive procedures) of the entire community in which the animal lives, and filtering out the non-amphibian material. Though scientists caution that this decades-old technique is not a substitute for more traditional studies, its new application of monitoring complex habitats to find threatened species offers an intriguing path for future research.
We still haven’t seen him, but we know he’s there! Scientists discover traces of long-lost frog
