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Transparent frogs, tiny geckos and snail-sucking snakes

An expedition to the coastal rainforests of Ecuador has discovered 30 new species of frog, a slug-sucking snake and a tiny gecko
See-through diversity
See-through diversity
(Image: Paul S Hamilton / RAEI)

An expedition to the coastal rainforests of western Ecuador has discovered .

The team of scientists, who work for , also identified four new species of stick insect, three species of lungless salamanders, a tiny, scaly-eyed gecko known as Lepidoblepharis buschwaldii and a bushmaster 鈥� the longest viper in the world.

Most of the new animals were discovered in the forests of Cerro Pata de P谩jaro, a mountain overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Its cloud forests are particularly fecund: 14 of the 30 new species of frog discovered were found in a patch of cloud forest just a couple of miles wide, according to the press release.

The newly-discovered frogs are 鈥渞ain鈥� frogs of the genus Pristimantis, which lay their eggs in trees. As the eggs hatch, miniature versions of the adult frogs 鈥� some the size of a pinhead 鈥� fall into the water below.

One of the frogs is a so-called glass frog that has a transparent chest.

鈥淭here is obviously a great concern that these species will disappear as soon as, or even before, they are formally described by science,鈥� says team leader Paul Hamilton.

In addition to deforestation, the cloud forests of Pata de P谩jaro are threatened by climate change, the press release says.

See them in our gallery: Transparent frogs, tiny geckos and snail-sucking snakes

Topics: Conservation