Weird Amphibians

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smallest frog

Smallest frog?

The Gardiner's Seychelles frog, measuring in at less than half an inch (11 millimeters), is perhaps the world's smallest frog, according to the Zoological Society of London.

The animal is one of ten species selected by the organization for conservation attention as part of the newly announced EDGE Amphibians program.

"Tragically, amphibians tend to be the overlooked members of the animal kingdom, even though one in every three amphibian species is currently threatened with extinction, a far higher proportion than that of bird or mammal species," said Jonathan Baillie, head of the EDGE program, in a press statement released on January 22, 2008.

"These species are the 'canaries in the coal mine'—they are highly sensitive to factors such as climate change and pollution, which lead to extinction, and are a stark warning of things to come. If we lose them, other species will inevitably follow."

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Chinese Giant Salamanda

January 22, 2008—A man holds a Chinese giant salamander, one of ten species to garner conservation attention as part of the EDGE Amphibians program announced today by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). The initiative is dedicated to preserving what the group says are some of the world's strangest and most vulnerable amphibian species.

The Chinese giant salamander, which ZSL says is the world's largest amphibian, is part of a distinct evolutionary lineage from the age of dinosaurs and can reach the size of human—almost 6 feet (1.8 meters) in length.

In addition to fragmented habitat, the creature —a distant relative of the newt—has been hunted to near extinction, so part of ZSL's conservation efforts include educating local people about the animal.

—Photo by International Cooperation Network for Giant Salamander Conservation/courtesy Zoological Society of London

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Little is known about the purple frog, one of ten amphibian species selected for the new EDGE amphibians conservation program run by the Zoological Society of London.

The pigmented creature was found only in 2003, because it spends most of its time deep underground, up to 13 feet (4 meters) below the surface.

"The EDGE program strives to protect the world's forgotten species and ensure that the weirdest species survive the current extinction crisis and astound future generations with their extraordinary uniqueness," said Jonathan Baillie, head of the EDGE program, in a press statement released on January 22, 2008.

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