New Frog Species Named After Led Zeppelin

In Ecuador in the misty mountains, hops a new species of frogs that have been named after Led Zeppelin.

Pristimantis ledzeppelin, which translates to “Led Zeppelin’s Rain Frog."

The frog was found and named by scientists David Brito-Zapata and Carolina Reyes-Puig in the Cordillera del Cóndor, which straddles the area of south-east Ecuador and north-east Peru.

Pristimantis ledzeppelin has coppery-red eyes and a mottled brown, black, orange and yellow skin, and is a member of the Pristimantis genus. Pristimantis is a massive, and rapidly growing genus that now consists of over 569 species. 28 of them have been discovered in just the last two years alone.

“The name honours Led Zeppelin and their extraordinary music,” the pair explain in the Neotropical Biodiversity journal. “Led Zeppelin was a British rock band formed in London in 1968, one of the most influential bands throughout the 1970s, and progenitors of both hard rock and heavy metal.”

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The duo warns that the frog could be "trampled under foot" as their habitat is endangered by farming, logging, mining, and disease.

“Due to the high endemism of the Cordillera del Cóndor, the new species here described is likely to be found only in this restricted area, therefore it is important to consider new long-term initiatives for small vertebrate conservation actions,” the researchers wrote.

Read more at The Guardian