Friday, March 12, 2010

The story of the Blue-eyed Frog Research

the frog with blue eye.
In the picture looks blue-eyed frog. Museum researchers zoologicum Bogoriense (mLB), Biology Research Center, LIPI was sure, this type had never known before.
Amir had been studying the topic of master frogs taxonomic genus Leptobrachium. Months to examine and assess it Leptobrachium stored specimen museums in Malaysia, in Japan, and certainly in Indonesia (mLB). Daily activities to measure and compare in detail all the morphological characters of all these specimens.
"One specimen that I check has a unique character, and unlike other Leptobrachium of Sumatra, which hasseltii L., L. L. nigrops and hendriksoni, which has no color pattern in the upper body and around the posterior thigh," wrote Amir in Kompas.com electronic mail.
But then he was still curious as they are not seeing eye of the frog. Understandably eye color of these specimens is unknown, because the color will fade in the eyes that have been preserved specimens. So when he handed a photograph showing her blue eyes on the frog iris, his heart was thrilled.
"Usually the genus iris color is black Leptobrachium (for all the species of Borneo), or half a light colored top, can be yellow / orange (hendricksoni L, L. smithi) or white / light blue (all species in China and Indochina). Lha ... this new type has the color blue iris in both eyes throughout sliced up or down, "said Amir who is currently in Japan to take the master's findings related to the frog.
Colors in the genus iris Leptobrachium is an important character to distinguish species. At least two new species found recently (in 2004 and 2006), from Cambodia and Laos are also based on the difference in iris color. Therefore Leptobrachium color of the iris Sepunti Way area is different from the types that have terdeskripsi he believed to be a new species.
The frog was first encountered by Adiinggar Ul-Hasanah and Wempi Endarwin from Wildlife Conservation Society team in 2004. At that time they only know genus. Amir's research since 2008 to uncover this kind of possibility that this frog is a kind previously unknown.
Amir's interest then took him to Sumatra to seek a living example of the frog's eyes are blue. He left in February 2009, assisted by two young herpetologiawan Sasi Kirono and Dwi Susanto, WCS team, Firdaus and Marji, and the ranger at the resort Kubu Perahu TNBBS (Taman Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park). The team that conducted a brief survey on Sepunti Way line, find two frogs. Amir then examine these frogs including describing it further.
According to the taxonomic studies carried out with his mentor Professor Amir Masafumi Matsui, by comparing these frogs with other types (in the genus Leptobrachium) from Thailand, Malaysia and several other areas in Indonesia (Sumatra, Belitung, Borneo and Java), this frog is a new type.
He also wrote a thesis about the frog and then given the name Leptobrachium waysepuntiense - refers to a small river near the location of the discovery of this type Sepunti River Way, the village of Kubu Perahu, Taman Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park. According to actual Leptobrachium genus widely distributed from China, Indochina to Sundaland (the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, Java) and Philippine (Southern). Now there are approximately 21 species that have been terdiskripsi. In Indonesia itself has no type 5, so that with the discovery of this new type into 6 types.
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