The EDGE of Existence Programme focuses on the conservation of Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered species that are neglected by current conservation actions.
In addition to the EDGE Mammals projects that are already underway, ten new conservation initiatives will be launched for EDGE Amphibians in 2008. The species we will be supporting are presented here.
Olm (blind salamander with transparent skin that lives underground, hunts for its prey by smell and electrosensitivity and can survive without food for 10 years)
Malagasy rainbow frog (highly-decorated frog that inflates itself when under threat and can climb vertical rock surfaces)
Sagalla caecilian (limbless amphibian with sensory tentacles on the sides of its head)
Purple frog (purple-pigmented frog that was only discovered in 2003 because it spends most of the year buried up to 4m underground)
Chinese giant salamander (salamander that can grow up to 1.8m in length and evolved independently from all other amphibians over one hundred million years before Tyrannosaurus rex)
Chile Darwin’s frog (a frog where fathers protect the young in their mouths, this species has not been officially seen since around 1980 and may now be extinct)
Gardiner’s Seychelles frog (perhaps the world’s smallest frog, with adults growing up to just 11mm in length – the size of a drawing pin)
