Spot the gecko: Reptile so small it can fit on pencil top found along with dozens of other new species in threatened Ecuador jungle



A gecko so small it can perch on top of a pencil has been discovered along with dozens of new animal species in Ecuador’s threatened rainforest.

Scientists also found 30 new varieties of frog and a snail-sucking snake – all on the verge of becoming extinct.

Their microhabitat – the Cerro Pata de Pájaro, meaning Bird Leg Hill in Spanish – has seen 95 per cent of its trees felled for farming.

Gordon Jr: The miniature gecko perched on top of a pencil was found on Bird Leg Hill microhabitat in Ecuador

The unique conditions of the mountain slope – a rainforest capped in cloud forest – mean these animals are not seen on neighbouring hills in western Ecuador.

‘There is obviously a great concern that these species will disappear as soon as, or even before, they are formally described by science’, said expedition leader Dr Paul Hamilton of Explorers from Reptile & Amphibian Ecology International.



‘In this part of ¬Ecuador, if you go to one spot you can find 20 or 30 species of frog, and if you go to the next site over you will see a whole bunch of different ones.’

His team also found three species of lungless salamanders and bushmaster snake, which is the longest viper in the world yet is rarely recorded, having been hunted almost to extinction in many parts of its range.

Revealing: A transparent frog - one of 30 news species - shows its beating heart while sitting on a glass sheet



One of the discoveries which has most excited many of the scientists are the frogs which lay their eggs in trees rather than water.

Instead of hatching into tadpoles, they hatch out into miniature versions of the adults, some barely larger than a pinhead.

The snail-sucking snake, with striking red markings, has a blunt snout ‘made just perfectly for jamming into the hole of a snail shell and providing that suction to suck the snail right out of there,’ said Dr Hamilton, an American.

But the animals’ habitat is being threatened by deforestation and climate change.

Weird: A snail-sucking snake that can syphon its prey out of its shell

Photography by Reptile & Amphibian Ecology International All photos are copyrighted RAEI and/or Paul S. Hamilton

The rise in temperatures and drought are forcing animals to move to higher elevation in search of cooler, wetter climates.

Indeed, sites like Pata de Pájaro are under siege from countless ecological disturbances, from widespread deforestation for cattle grazing to timber harvesting and hunting.



Climate change models actually predict that many of these mountaintop cloud forests – along with the animals that depend on them – will disappear altogether from global warming if something is not done to save them.

The rain frogs just discovered are particularly susceptible to climate change since they rely on moist trees to lay their eggs which may dry up with temperature increases.

Previous work by the scientists in the area yielded an amazing diversity of more than 140 reptiles and amphibians.



Shrinking habitat: the Cerro Pata de Pájaro, meaning Bird Leg Hill in Spanish, has lost 95% of its trees

‘There are countless gaps in our knowledge about the status and distribution of tropical animals; this study just scratches the surface of what we know about this region alone, much less what is happening to global patterns of extinction’, said Dr Hamilton.

‘But to stem the pattern of current extinction rates, we all need to do our part, whether that be driving less, eating less meat, or simply educating ourselves and spreading the word.’

Dr Kerry Kriger, director of the Save the Frogs charity, said: ‘The good news is, the animals are still there and alive, so there is still time to save them from extinction.

‘But we need to take action now to make it happen.’



