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Scientists shocked by abnormal discovery in Chinese forest: 'New hidden … hot spots'

The more we know about the spaces we share with animals and plant life, the more we can do to protect these natural beings.

The more we know about the spaces we share with animals and plant life, the more we can do to protect these natural beings.

Photo Credit: iStock

Vast swaths of Earth have not been explored, and they continually reveal exciting breakthroughs.

The ocean may be famously uncharted, but land is also home to an unknown number of never-before-documented species.

In the Xiaoxi National Nature Reserve in Hunan, China, researchers found an amphibian that is among a plethora of new discoveries. The Yongshun leaf litter toad has bulging copper eyes, narrow fringes on its toes, and a brick-red back with large warts, as the Miami Herald reported.

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The animal was detailed in Zoosystematics and Evolution.

Leptobrachella yongshunensis was discovered because two male toads were chirping in the Wuling Mountains during mating season in March. Their calls went on for over 30 seconds. Four months later, scientists returned and found the toads in the forest's leaf litter. They were silent, and the researchers think they may remain there between breeding cycles.

The study's authors wrote that around 30 species of Leptobrachella were found from 2020 to August 2024. Only one, L. wulingensis, was found in the Wuling Mountains. L. yongshunensis and this sister species were separated by the Lishui River, "which may be the main reason for their isolation."

The scientists added that the water systems and rivers that divide the area imply "there might be more hidden Leptobrachella species."

Last year, the authors said, other researchers "revealed six new hidden biological hotspots in China, including the Wuling Mountains." These areas "are associated with mountain ranges in southeastern China and are mostly unprotected and highly threatened by human pressure," according to that paper. The other hot spots are in the Eastern Guizhou, Luoxiao, Nanling, Tianmu, and Wuyi mountains.

The research team suggested prioritizing their conservation; five of the locations are in great peril because of human activity.

In all, there are 10 hot spots of amphibian diversity in the country, and they include 59.6% of known amphibians in China, 49% of cryptic species (those that look the same but are genetically different), and 55.6% of endemic species. The new hot spots host 186 species, though 88.2% of them are "exposed to high human impacts."

Such research highlights Earth's biodiversity and untold wonders. The more we know about the spaces we share with animals and plant life, the more we can do to protect these natural beings.

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