Three years ago, in 2009, Jeremy A. Feinberg, a doctoral
candidate in Ecology and Evolution at Rutgers University, went
into the wilds of Staten Island to analyze the habitat. Instead
of hearing the distinctive mating call of the southern leopard
frog, which usually consists of a repetitive chuckle, he heard
an entirely different call – a single chuck. “I started hearing
these calls, and I realized they were distinct,” said Feinberg.
Now, in 2012, Feinberg and four other scientists made the
discovery official: it is a new species of leopard frog, living
in one of the largest and most populated cities in the world.
For a long time, the new species was confused with the southern
leopard frog, to which it bears close resemblance. The species
is medium size, with dark spots on an olive or green background.
It lives around grassy meadows and breeds in pools or ponds.
Though nearly identical in appearance, the new species of
leopard frog is genetically distinct. There are more than a
dozen species of leopard frog,