Breeding efforts should be in place to save endangered species

The new species has been discovered in Ruvu South Forest Reserve, located some 45 kilometers from the country's commercial capital, Dar es Salaam.

According to reports, in 2001 a group of scientists working for the non-governmental organisation Frontier-Tanzania collected a strange looking reed frog from Ruvu South Forest. Sixteen years later, a genetic and morphological analysis by British scientists, Chris Barratt and Simon Loader, revealed that the frog is new to science. The frog has been named Hyperolius ruvuensis or the Ruvu spiny reed frog.

The frog was found on reeds and bushes in a swampy area of open grassland within the reserve. The frog has not been seen since 2001, despite a rapid survey in 2015. Indeed the discovery of this new frog species highlights the importance of Ruvu South Forest Reserve for tourism particularly for amphibian lovers and researchers.

Research has revealed that over 40 per cent of forest land in the reserve was lost between 2000 and 2011 due to activities like fire and illegal charcoal production, which continue to cause damage to the reserve’s natural habitat.

“The discovery of this new frog species highlights the importance of the Ruvu South Forest Reserve. There is an urgent need for the Tanzania Forest Services Agency to protect the natural forest and wetlands in the reserve. Also more effort is needed to work with surrounding communities to halt the forest reserve’s destruction.

We need to protect our natural forests and that means the government needs to get serious about protecting the natural forest under its care.”

The newly-confirmed frog species is said to offer an interesting account of the evolutionary history of reed frogs in the region with its close links to forest species of the Eastern Afromontane Mountains.

DNA analysis of these frogs suggests that these species and their habitats were more widespread in the region millions of years ago, connecting forest in the mountains of Tanga, Morogoro, Iringa.

Tanzania has three native amphibians which include Kihansi Spray Toad, scientific name Nectophrynoides asperginis, a species of small toad that is a member of the bufonidae family of true toads.

Second is the Morere's Banana Frog, scientific name Afrixalus morerei, a species of frog that is a member of the hyperoliidae family of sedge and bush frogs. This species is endemic to Tanzania and is only found in the localities of Dabaga and Udzungwa Scarp in the Udzungwa Mountains.

The third is Nyingwa Caecilian, scientific name Scolecomorphus uluguruensis, this is another species of caecilian and a member of the scolecomorphidae tropical or African caecilians. This species is found in the Uluguru Mountains and is endemic in the country.

There are many things that are being done to help the native amphibians of Tanzania, many of which are endangered species. There are efforts underway nationally and internationally to have breeding programmes in place to help bring up the population and try to save species that are endangered or worse.