Pumpkin toads get their name from their impressive orange coloration, although their resemblance to pumpkins ends here, because they are quite tiny. While it is true that all poison frogs are similar and exhibit few genetic variations, it is curious that we are still announcing the discovery of unique species that have gone unnoticed by science.
The new species of pumpkin toad was discovered in the southern Mantiqueira mountain range in São Paulo, Brazil . It belongs to the genus Brachycephalus , a group that has experienced some taxonomic difficulties due to the fact that its members are morphologically and genetically quite difficult to differentiate.
The team collected 276 pumpkin toad samples that they took to their lab for analysis, including DNA testing. Here the new species appeared.
Be careful with its tender and colorful appearance, as it is a highly poisonous species. It has been baptized as Brachycephalus rotenbergae , it measures less than 2 centimeters long (adult males are between 1.35 and 1.6 cm long and females between 1.6 and 1.8 cm) but it has enough venom, transmitted by the glands of his skin, to make a human being sick. Among its most striking features, it is also found that its bony plates and back glow in fluorescent green tones under ultraviolet light. For what reason? Researchers don’t know …
These miniature toads live in forest litter and are usually more active during the day than at night. Being so small, pumpkin toads may seem like easy prey for predators , but their bright coloration is a warning that ingesting their neurotoxin-covered bodies is … a bad idea.
“The colors of Brachycephalus rotenbergae can function as a camouflage in its microhabitat, as there are large amounts of tiny yellow and orange leaves, fungi and seeds in the soil, especially during the active season. Together these elements make the bright colors of the samples are not as flashy as they may seem, “comment the authors.
Referencia: I. Nunes et al. 2021. Hidden by the name: A new fluorescent pumpkin toadlet from the Brachycephalus ephippium group (Anura: Brachycephalidae). PLoS ONE 16 (4): e0244812; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0244812
