Potentially Endangered spiny frog identified by scientists for first time in Vietnam mountain range

Benjamin Tapley, ZSL’s curator of Amphibians and Reptiles and Luan Thanh Nguyen, EDGE Hero describe spiny cascade frog from northwest Vietnam as new to science.

Scientists and conservationists working in the dramatic Hoang Lien Range in northwest Vietnam continue to encounter species unknown to science. The Fansipan shrew mole, Mount Po Ma Lung toothed toad, Sapa flat-backed millipede, Fansipan rove beetle, Hoang Lien horned frog, Fansipan ground skink, H’mong keelback snake, apetalous orchid and Van Ban tree frog are just some of the species from the rugged mountain range that have been described for the first time over the last decade.  

Today, in a paper published in the journal Zootaxa, we add another species to this long list – describing the Hoang Lien cascade frog (Amolops spicalinea) for the first time in scientific literature.

Conservation in Asia

Cascade Frogs  

Amolops – a group of frogs commonly known as cascade frogs due to their association with rapid mountain streams - have large toe pads that help them cling to vegetation and rocks in these wet environments. Not to be confused with the Cascades frog found in the Pacific Northwest of America, there are over 80 different species of cascade frogs currently known, East and Southeast Asia and Northeast India.

One quite striking feature of the newly described Hoang Lien cascade frog are small white spines found on the eardrum and running along the side of the body. We’re currently unsure why this species may have evolved this unusual trait, but we do know it’s not present in any of the 10 other cascade frogs currently known from the Hoang Lien Range. 

The largest Hoang Lien cascade frog we encountered is just shy of 6.5 cm in total length – about the width of a playing card.

Our team encountered the Hoang Lien cascade frog on several different expeditions, confirming that it is present on three different mountains (Mount Fansipan [Vietnam’s highest mountain]; Mount Pu Ta Leng and Mount Nam Kang Ho Tao) at elevations between 2288–2493m above sea level. The Hoang Lien Cascade frog could also occur in neighboring Yunnan Province in China, but further work is needed to confirm this.  

Given the relatively small range of this species and the ongoing habitat loss and modification that this region faces, this new species likely qualifies for being assessed as Endangered under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species categories – underlining the importance of protecting this habitat and the many species within in.  

Protecting frogs and toads under threat

Amphibians globally are under threat, with at least 42% of all known amphibian species in decline due to disease, habitat loss and climate change. 37 species are already listed as extinct, with a further 184 likely also wiped out.  

As we work across the globe to build a world where nature can thrive, describing and naming a species is about more than just knowing exactly how many species we share the planet with – it’s also key to conservation action. It’s only once a species is named and formally recognized that it can be included in conservation legislation and its conservation status assessed. 

Our conservation work in the Hoang Lien Range has been running for over a decade, as part of our wider work tackling the shocking recent declines in amphibian numbers. Despite being one of the better surveyed sites for amphibians in Vietnam, our collaborative and international team have already described six amphibian species as new to science, mostly from the higher elevations of this rugged mountain range.  

The Hoang Lien Range is already recognised as a hotspot for amphibian species diversity and several highly threatened amphibian species are known to call the region home. The presence of an additional, likely Endangered, species in the form of the Hoang Lien cascade frog further highlights the significance of this region for amphibians. It is imperative that further work is undertaken to not only fully document and describe the region’s amphibian species but also to protect them. Conservation action built on cutting-edge science is key to giving a future to the extraordinary creatures that we live alongside.  

The work was done in collaboration with partners Hoang Lien National Park, Asian Turtle Program of Indo-Myanmar Conservation and the Australian Museum.