So slow, the dawning; so very slow...
As I sat at the computer this morning looking at this pic and that, for some reason I paused at the photos of the tiny (males barely more than 1/2", female to about 3/4") orange-bellied leaf toad,
Dendrophryniscus minutus.
"Hmmmm (almost all of my deep thoughts start with 'hmmmmm')," I thought, "When was the last time I saw one of these?"
When I first began traveling to the Iquitos region of Peru, these minuscule bufonids were common. I saw them almost daily on low shrubs at Amazon Camp, at Madre Selva, at Paucarillo, and on dozens of trails in many other villages.
But now, in truth, I think it has been 8 to 10 years since I last saw one. Have I become that much less observant (I don't think so)? Or could these little anurans actually be disappearing, in this case before my very eyes, just as the related Atelopus are before the eyes of others?
More photos under the jump...
To prevent automated Bots from commentspamming, please enter the string you see in the image below in the appropriate input box. Your comment will only be submitted if the strings match. Please ensure that your browser supports and accepts cookies, or your comment cannot be verified correctly.