Category: Frogs

‘Tastes Like Chicken’ Wins Annual Frog Jumping Contest in San Juan Capistrano

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif.—The excitement of dozens of children and parents was audible at Los Rios Park as volunteers prepared three frogs for the city’s 7th annual Frog Jumping Contest. “Okay, you guys ready to race?” asked Jim Taylor, president of San Juan Capistrano Fiesta Association—the hosting organization and the largest volunteer group in the…


New Australian Mountain Frog Hops Into View

A new species of mountain frog has been discovered in the rainforests of New South Wales (NSW), and Queensland, Australia. The species Philoria knowlesi was discovered by researchers from universities, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, and the South Australian Museum, alongside ecologists from the Department of Environment and Science (DES). The DES and…


Corroboree Frogs Hop Back Into The Snowy Mountains

One hundred Southern Corroboree frogs—a critically endangered Australian frog species—have returned to their native home in an Australian mountain range known as the Snowy Mountains. Kosciuszko National Park in the Snowy Mountains will establish the new frog population in a purpose-built field enclosure designed to protect and observe the frogs. The enclosure features irrigation systems…


New Breeding Facility Saves Dying Frog Population

Taronga Zoo is re-establishing Australia’s Booroolong frog population with a $178,000 (US$127, 000) breeding facility funded by the Australian government. Booroolong frogs are a critically endangered species, native to the New South Wales (NSW) Northern Tablelands, that were almost wiped out by a severe drought in 2019 which dried up their stream habitats. “The extended…


Xenobots: Cell-Based Living Robots That Can Self-Replicate

Swarms of tiny living robots have discovered the ability to self-replicate, i.e. reproduce, through the process of gathering single cells and assembling them together to form new organisms, through a unique process not seen until now in plants or animals. Researchers Sam Kriegman, Douglas Blackiston, Michael Levin, and Josh Bongard; from Tufts University, Harvard, and…