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Saturday, July 22, 2017

In findings published earlier this month in Zootaxa, scientists report the discovery of new toad species in Nevada's Great Basin. It is unusual to discover even one previously unknown species of amphibian in the United States. This report names three, the the Dixie Valley toad, the Hot Creek toad, and the Railroad Valley toad. The Dixie Valley toad has already become the subject of some controversy and a 1000-note letter-writing campaign about the construction of a new power plant.

The toads were found in Nevada's Great Basin, a large stretch of arid environment that was once full of lakes and marshes. "We've found the toads in small, wet habitats surrounded by high-desert completely cut off from other populations," said University of Nevada professor and lead scientist Dick Tracy. "These are absolutely new, true species that have been separated from other populations for 650,000 years."

This type of speciation scenario, in which a sub-population of one species becomes separated from the main population and eventually becomes a separate species, is called adaptive radiation. The classic example is Darwin's finches, in which different groups of birds found themselves on different islands and developed distinct beak shapes to eat whatever food was available to them, eventually becoming visibly different species. The three toad species described in Tracy's study appear to be related to the common western toad, but an analysis of over 30 metrics showed visible differences between all three and their presumed ancestor species: "The Dixie Valley toad is a pretty toad, with flecks of gold on an olive background," said Tracy. The toad also has unusually large glands on its legs and very small overall body size.

"The toads are perfectly concealed in the dense vegetation of their habitat," said lead author Michelle Gordon. "You could easily miss seeing them during the day, making accurate counts difficult. But, during one trip at dusk, toads were everywhere, giving the impression that toads were locally abundant. And, without the water in this habitat, this toad species would completely disappear."

The Dixie Valley toad is named for the small marsh, under four square miles (X square km), where it lives. All three toads live in wet areas completely surrounded by desert. Plans for a nearby geothermal power plant are on hold while the Bureau of Land Management determines whether it will pose a threat to the Dixie Valley toad population. The environmental group Center for Biological Diversity arranged a letter-writing campaign asking the Bureau to dismiss plans for the Dixie Valley geothermal plant.

Eurekalert

The last toad species to be discovered in the United States was the now-extinct Wyoming toad in 1968.

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CAT:Biology CAT:Nevada CAT:United States CAT:Science and technology CAT:North America