An “Extinct” Frog Makes a Comeback

The Hula painted frog was catalogued within the Discoglossus group when it was first discovered in the Hula Valley of Israel in the early 1940s. The frog was thought to have disappeared following the drying up of the Hula Lake at the end of the 1950s, and was declared extinct by the IUCN in 1996. As a result, the opportunity to discover more about this species’ history, biology, and ecology was thought to have disappeared.

However, a team of Israeli, German, and French researchers now report in the scientific journal Nature Communications on an in-depth scientific analysis of this enigmatic amphibian.

The Hula ValleyPhoto by Will King Based on new genetic analyses of rediscovered individuals and the morphologic analyses of extant and fossil bones, the conclusion is that the Hula frog differs strongly from its other living relatives, the painted frogs from northern and western Africa. Instead, the Hula frog is related to a genus of fossil frogs, Latonia, which was found over much of Europe dating back to prehistoric periods and has been considered extinct.

The results imply that the Hula painted frog is not merely another rare species of frog, but is actually the sole representative of an ancient clade of frogs (a group with a single common ancestor).

Plans to re-flood parts of the Hula Valley and restore the original swamp habitat are in place, which may allow expansion in population size and a secure future for the Hula painted frog.