Lungless frog found in Indonesia

11:09 AM, April 12, 2008

A frog that has no lungs and breathes through its skin has been found in a remote part of Indonesia, a discovery that researchers this week said could provide insight into what drives evolution in certain species.

The aquatic frog Barbourula kalimantanensis was found on Borneo in 2007, researchers said Thursday in the journal Current Biology.

The species is the first frog known to science without lungs and joins a short list of amphibians with this unusual trait, including a few species of salamanders and a wormlike creature known as a caecilian.

Posted by Alice Short on April 12, 2008 | Permalink | Bookmark it:

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/816965/28036418

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Lungless frog found in Indonesia:

Comments

Dear SIr/ Mam

I am afraid there is no reference to the article about lungless frogs in Indonesia, please could you provide the reference as I believe it to be a very importnat development.

Sincerely
Damian Smith
University of Hull
England

Posted by: Damian Smith | April 14, 2008 at 02:37 PM

I believe the source was a periodical titled "Current Biology."

Posted by: alice short | April 14, 2008 at 05:20 PM

Questions? Comments?

E-mail us at unleashed@latimes.com.

Animal Blogs

Animal Crazy
Best Animal Videos
Born Animal
Critter News
For The Love of Dog
Mutts
San Diego Zoo Blogs
Science Daily: Animal News
Sit, Stay, Speak!
South Bay Pets
Tails Of The City
The Pet Blog
Vet Blog

Animal Care Agencies

Long Beach Animal Control
Los Angeles Animal Services
Los Angeles County
Orange County
Riverside County
San Bernardino County
San Diego County
Ventura County

Animal Webcams

Live video from zoos and aquariums

BY ZOO:

National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
San Diego Zoo
Sea World San Diego (Sharks)
Sea World San Diego (Shamu)
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Toledo Zoo in Ohio
Biodome de Montreal

BY ANIMALS:

African elephant
Apes
Asian elephant
Black-footed ferret
Cheetah
Clouded Leopard
Flamingo
Freshwater Otter
Gorilla
Hippo
Kelp Forest
Killer Whale
Lion
Naked mole rat
Orangutan
Panda
Penguin
Polar Bear
Sea Otter
Tiger

Categories

Our Bloggers

Tony Barboza is a reporter who covers Santa Ana and Irvine for the Times' Orange County Edition. He has written about a veterinarian shortage at L.A. animal shelters, a glass barrier birders called "the wall of death" and a controversial stunt to put a celebrity elephant in a giant bubble. He lives with his cats Mario and Vincent.

Francisco Vara-Orta is a staff writer at the Times in Los Angeles who covers breaking news for online, the Eastside, and Latino issues throughout the county. He has written about birth control for squirrels in Santa Monica and pigeons in Hollywood, the hidden culture of TV pet adoptions, and animal cruelty throughout Southern California. A L.A. transplant, he is from San Antonio, Texas, where his dog Diego now keeps his mother company.

Carla Hall is a general assignment reporter at the Times in Los Angeles. Frequently covering animals (and their people) throughout her 15 years at the Times, she's chronicled the Oakland Zoo's attempts to hand-raise a baby African elephant; followed the Los Angeles Zoo's LA-born gorilla Caesar on his trek to a new home at Zoo Atlanta; and interviewed pit bulls at the Laurel Canyon Dog Park. Currently animal-less, she still insists on plying people with anecdotes about her cat, Arnold, who died ten years ago.

Tony Perry is The Times' bureau chief in San Diego. Unlike other animal-loving reporters, he's lucky enough to have pandas -- along with frogs, elephants, and other creatures at the San Diego Zoo which he covers. He's also reported on efforts by the county Department of Animal Services to find homes for older dogs and cats. He and his wife, Ann, and their sons, Wes and Mike, have a family member named Jane, a standard poodle.

Alice Short is a news feature editor at the Times. She acquired her first pet, Pansy, a calico cat, at age 6. Amazingly, that cat tolerated being dressed in doll wedding clothes and paraded about in a baby carriage for hours. Alice currently lives with her dog Biscuit (and some kids and a husband) in Los Angeles. She has never dressed Biscuit in a wedding dress but has been tempted by doggie sweaters.

Steve Padilla is an assistant metro editor at the Times. He has written and edited articles on many subjects, including higher education and religion. He earned his first front-page byline at The Times with an article about pit bulls. He serves three cats -- Annie, Alex and Simon.