14 DAY TRIAL // Scientists looking to determine how ecotourism affects local biodiversity in central Guyana have accidentally discovered a previously undocumented species of poison dart frog.
The researchers say that frogs belonging to this species are no bigger than a thumbnail.
They mostly feed on mites and ants, yet sometimes feast on small invertebrates that cross their path.
According to Mongabay, the frog owe their toxicity to their diet.
The newly discovered frog species, named Allobates amissibilis (i.e. Latin for “that may be lost”), is believed to only inhabit a tract of rainforest close to the Iwokrama Mountains.
Apparently, this patch of land was the set for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's “The Lost World.”
Since the novel turned out to be quite a success, many still use its name to refer to this area in central Guyana.