A team of scientists on an expedition to the South American country of Suriname have identified potentially 60 new animal species. The team of 16 scientists found six frogs, one snake and 11 fishes among the possibly new species. “Suriname is one of the last places where an opportunity still exists to conserve massive tracts of untouched forest and pristine rivers where biodiversity is thriving,” said Dr. Trond Larsen, a tropical ecologist on the expedition team, told The Telegraph. Among the new-found species is the chocolate frog, or coca frog. Named for its brown exterior, it lives in trees of a rainforest-dominated mountainous region of southeastern Suriname. “Like other amphibians, its semi-permeable skin makes it highly sensitive to changes in the environment, especially freshwater. With over 100 species of frogs likely gone extinct over just the last three decades, the discovery of this new species is especially heartening,” Larsen said in a statement. Two other frogs – the brown and white colored poison dart frog and a new snouted tree frog – were also identified. The latter hopped onto the team’s camp table one night during the expedition, The Telegraph reports. A ruby-colored Lilliputian beetle, possibly the second smallest beetle in South America, was also found. The dung beetle that has antler-like antenna may even belong to a new genus. Read more and pics at link http://www.ibtimes.com/60-new-speci...-discovery-shows-biodiversity-thriving-photos
