A "Rana de las nacientes" (Isthmohyla nacientes), a newly discovered frog species nicknamed the \u201ccoffee frog\u201d, in San Jose, Costa Rica. Photo \/ AFP<\/p>\n
A tiny greenish, nocturnal frog that thrives in coffee plantations has been discovered in Costa Rica\u2019s central Pacific region, where it also faces risks from agrochemicals used in farming.<\/p>\n
Measuring less than 4cm and known as the \u201cspring frog\u201d, AFP reporters observed the dark green-spotted amphibians in San Lorenzo de
\n Tarrazu.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a new species of tree frog for science, and endemic to Costa Rica,\u201d researcher Wagner Chaves-Acuna told AFP, per the findings of colleagues from the University of Costa Rica and Argentina\u2019s National Council for Scientific and Technical Research.<\/p>\n
Also nicknamed the \u201ccoffee frog\u201d, the species has another distinctive trait: males have a translucent throat that inflates with their short, high-pitched call.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt night, when they are most active, you can hear them singing and perched on coffee shrubs,\u201d Chaves-Acuna said.<\/p>\n
Generally, frogs seek out shade, moisture and food in the crops \u2013 but they are not after the coffee berries, feeding instead on the small insects in the habitat.<\/p>\n
Chaves-Acuna said pesticide use on coffee plantations could potentially pose a risk to these tiny amphibians.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese poisons travel through the air… they seep through the soil and that\u2019s where they enter the aquatic systems where the tadpoles develop,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n