Photo: Rediscovered Macaya Breast-Spot Frog

Photo By: Robin Moore / iLCP photographer's website

"A common assumption about Haiti is that there is nothing left to save", said Conservation International's Amphibian Conservation Specialist Robin Moore. Conservation International, along with Blair Hedges of Pennsylvania State University and the Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) found six frogs that had previously been labeled as extinct.

With this exciting discovery also comes a warning from Hedges, "The biodiversity of Haiti, including its frogs, is approaching a mass extinction event caused by massive and nearly complete deforestation. Unless the global community comes up with a solution soon, we will lose many unique species forever."

On the year anniversary of Haiti's devastating earthquake, the country is in dire need of help, and "clearly, the health of Haiti's frogs is not anyone's primary concern here. However, the ecosystems these frogs inhabit, and their ability to support life, is critically important to the long-term well-being of Haiti's people, who depend on healthy forests for their livelihoods, food security and fresh water. Amphibians are what we call barometer species of our planet's health. They're like the canaries in the coal mine. As they disappear, so too do the natural resources people depend upon to survive," Moore said.

Shown here, the Macaya breast-spot frog was last seen in 1991, and at the size of a green grape, this frog is one of the smallest in the world.

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