Boophis siskoi is one of seven newly described species of frog found in Madagascar.
Mark D. Scherz
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Mark D. Scherz
Boophis siskoi is one of seven newly described species of frog found in Madagascar.
Mark D. Scherz
This week, scientists named seven newly described frog species.
Scientists discover thousands of new species every year — but these have a special claim to fame: They pay homage to Star Trek.
Mark Scherz is one of the authors on the paper about these amphibians and a curator of herpetology (that’s reptiles and amphibians) at the Natural History Museum of Denmark. He says these frogs’ calls sound so much like the “futuristic sounding whistles and beeps” of the Star Trek series that they named each of the seven after a captain.
These frogs live in humid rainforests in northern and eastern Madagascar, often near fast, flowing rivers. Generally, frog calls come in a variety of different flavors. But these treefrogs' high-pitched, "futuristic" sounds may help male frogs attract females over the sound of nearby rushing water.
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The seven new species are all closely related to another species, Boophis marojezensis, that researchers have known about since the mid-1990s. But when they looked at genetic information of these frogs and their calls, among other things, they realized there were seven distinct species beyond the original.
When it came time to name the new frogs, Scherz and some of his collaborators couldn't pass up the opportunity to reference their love of Star Trek.
Scherz said the study's first author, Miguel Vences, is also a fan. The two bonded over their love of the series when Scherz was beginning his career as a researcher.
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"I stayed at his house when … I think I was still a master's student and he had a life sized Captain Kirk cutout in his living room," Scherz said. "I was sleeping on the floor in the living room, but I had Captain Kirk looking over me."
There are over 400 known amphibian species in Madagascar and Scherz guesses there could be hundreds more that scientists have not described.
Scherz says the Star Trek names also nod to the challenges of studying amphibians and the sense of wonder in all the undiscovered and undescribed species out there. “Star Trek is about science, it’s about discovery, it’s about exploration and the importance of those things to humanity and our place in the universe,” he says.
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Evolutionary biologist JJ Apodaca, the executive director of the Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy, says any new information could help advance conservation efforts for these creatures, “Amphibians are one of the most endangered groups in the world and have had incredible rates of declines over the last 2 to 4 decades. … So any progress we can make to understanding that diversity … is a really good step forward.”
Have another animal you want us to dig into for a future episode? Email us at shortwave@npr.org!
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This episode was produced by Hannah Chinn and Megan Lim. It was edited by Rebecca Ramirez and Christopher Intagliata. Tyler Jones checked the facts. Ted Mebane was the audio engineer.
