I am quite proud that I have one species of animal named after me: Atelopus coynei, a small “harlequin frog” that was first caught (by me, when I was a student) in the forests of western Ecuador. It was formally described by my best friend in graduate school, the polymath Ken Miyata (co-author of Tropical Nature), who, tragically, was killed in a fishing accident in 1983. The story of Ken, how he came to name the frog after me, and other details of these beautiful creatures (I include Ken in that category), are described here, here, and here.
For years Atelopus coynei has been thought to be extinct: it’s a denizen of the wet forests of western Ecuador, which are being lost to human depredation at an alarming rate; and of course frogs worldwide are being decimated by a chytrid fungus. A. coynei has not, in fact, been seen since 1984.
Until a week ago.
I found out yesterday that it’s STILL ALIVE! Here’s a short email I received last night.
I would like to inform you about my observation of an individual of “Atelopus coynei” on February 7, 2012 at Chinambi, Carchi, Ecuador. Attached are 2 photographs. The species is listed as Critically Endangered.
Best regards,
Dr. Andreas Kay, Cotacachi, Ecuador
Dr. Kay enclosed two photographs he took of the living frog, which are only the second and third pictures that have been made. It’s far prettier than the pickled type specimen at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology, which lost its color (click to enlarge to full glory):
Perhaps I’m too steeped in theology, but I sense a metaphor here: like the memory of my erstwhile best pal, the frog is still with us.
That frog’s a beauty.
Congratulations, your progeny exist! 😉
This news makes me hoppy.
+1
Ha!
Lovely. All of it.
What a beauty – let us hope it sticks its tongue out at the threat of extinction.
Congratulations! What a beauty.
Happy Story!
How immensely cool to have this beautiful creature scientifically named in your honor, and that it has been sighted again. I like this kind of news. 🙂
thats pretty cool.
Great news! And great pix. Anyone who wants to know more about the disturbing trend of amphibian decline and extinction should have a look at Extinction in Our Times by Jim Collins and Marty Crump.
Extinction in Our Times:
clinically depressing, and our eternal shame. An intelligent species would wake up and react.
Definitely as a result of quantum entanglement with the will of the Great Frog God.
Pretty big nose on that frog, don’t you think??
What excellent news!!! Does this live in lower-elevation forests? The lower elevation Atelopus here in Ecuador are mostly free of the frog-killing fungus. The fungus doesn’t thrive at high temperatures. Most of the highland species here now seem to be truly extinct, though occasionally there are surprises.
Ceiling Frog smileth upon thee!
I can see the headline:
Frog’s Not Dead!
Frog bless us, every one.
Through the resonant vibrations of the quantum cosmos…..OOOOMMMM….RIBBIT.
Quick, someone find Brian Blessed
Atelopus coynei IS ALIVE!!
Critically endangered…well…just for fun then…how many to make a pair of cowboy boots?
It’s nice to know that your frog didn’t croak!
Groovy post! Because…
** it’s a frog beauty ~ though it’s a given that all frogs are beautiful ~ why would any frog aspire to be a prince?
** it’s YOUR frog
** of your touching remark about the RIP Ken being also in the class of beautiful creatures
** of the use of the word denizen ~ ‘denizen’ doesn’t get enough airplay outside of Attenborough & monster movies. For some reason the word has become wrongly solely associated with, mystery, the deep & the dark
How lovely, this is the best news I’ve had all day.
I envy you your frog. Mine is an ugly little catfish.:-(
http://www.fishbase.org/summary/Rhinodoras-thomersoni.html
All the half dozen or so species of Rhinodoras are named for ichthyologists, so I am in good company, anyway.
Link didn’t work for me, but hey–how cool to have any species named for you!
THAT IS AWESOME!!!
Ahh yes, it looks just like you.
That is a fine looking frog!
But what’s he got stuck on his side? An insect wing?
The frog abides.
WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW!
Gorgeous creature, to boot. (So to speak…)
We must really work to combat human induced extinction that is having a irreversible and dangerous consequences on evolution of species and contributing to loss of diversity of life.