Bell frog thought to be on last legs spotted alive and kicking
Not dead ... a yellow-spotted bell frog. Photo: Taronga
Zoo/Michael McFadden In the world of amphibians, it is the
equivalent of finding the Tasmanian tiger. A species of frog
presumed extinct for nearly 30 years has turned up in the
Southern Tablelands. The yellow-spotted bell frog was once
ubiquitous in the northern and southern tablelands of NSW, but
was almost wiped out after the chytrid fungus arrived from
Africa in the early 1970s. It was found alive and well in 2008
by government researcher Luke Pearce, who was searching for a
native fish, the southern pygmy perch. Instead, he spotted the
bell frog, which has distinctive markings on its groin and
thighs. But Mr Pearce had to wait until last October before he
could return with David Hunter, the threatened species officer
of the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water, to
confirm the finding. ''We heard this bell frog call,'' Mr Pearce
said. ''[We] went down looking for it and act