‘Golden’-eyed creature with ‘slender’ toes found in Peru forest. It’s a new species
Sunlight filtered through the trees of a rainforest in northern Peru and illuminated an “iridescent” creature. Its “golden” eyes scanned the surroundings — but it wasn’t the only one looking.
Passing scientists noticed the striped animal and discovered a new species.
Researchers hiked into the Amazon rainforest in northern Ecuador and Peru in 2019 to search for some very specific frogs, known as nurse frogs, according to a study published March 21 in the peer-reviewed journal Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History.
The team planned to study two similar-looking frog species until they came across some other distinctive frogs during their surveys in Peru, the study said.
Intrigued, researchers collected a few specimens for a closer look, tested their DNA and soon realized they’d discovered a new species: Allobates liniaureum, or the golden line nurse frog.
Golden line nurse frogs are considered “small,” reaching less than an inch in length, the study said. They have “smooth” skin, “robust” legs and “slender” toes. Their “prominent” eyes are “golden, with dark brown” markings.
Photos show the coloring of the new species. Overall, the frogs are “yellowish brown or cream with scattered dark brown spots.” A stripe “with golden iridescent tones” runs down their sides.
Researchers said they named the new species “liniaureum” after the Latin phrase for “thread or string” and “golden” because of its distinctive stripe.
Seen from below, golden line nurse frogs have “yellowish,” white or “translucent” bellies, the study said. Male frogs have “iridescent pigmentation” on their stomach, while female frogs have it on their stomachs, chests and throats.
Golden line nurse frogs are most active during the day, and male frogs were heard calling, researchers said. The frogs were found in a “small patch” of rainforest, “which was very degraded, with signs of recent logging.”
So far, the new species has only been found in one site near Yurimaguas, a riverside town roughly a 670-mile drive northeast of Lima.
The new species was identified by its DNA, call, skeleton, coloring, finger shape and other subtle physical features, the study said.
The research team included Andres Jaramillo-Martinez, Carles Vilà, Juan Guayasamin, Giussepe Gagliardi-Urrutia, Fernando Rojas-Runjaic, Pedro Simões, Juan Chaparro, Ramón Aguilar-Manihuari and Santiago Castroviejo-Fisher.
The team also studied several other types of nurse frog.
This story was originally published April 3, 2025 at 9:36 AM with the headline "‘Golden’-eyed creature with ‘slender’ toes found in Peru forest. It’s a new species."
