- Scientists discovered an otherworldly frog in the forests of Ecuador.
- The stream frog's colors and patterns reminded the researchers of fantasy author J.R.R. Tolkien.
First came the Leonardo DiCaprio snakes. Now come the Tolkien frogs.
A frog fit for a role in one of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy worlds was discovered in the pristine streams of the Río Negro-Sopladora National Park in Ecuador — a country literally situated on the equator — the middle of the earth.
Because of this, researchers Juan C. Sánchez-Nivicela, José M. Falcón-Reibán, and Diego F. Cisneros-Heredia named the mystical frog — a greyish green and yellow amphibian with brown speckles and large, pink eyes — Hyloscirtus tolkieni after the famed author.
"In a stream in the forest there lived a Hyloscirtus. Not a nasty, dirty stream, with spoor of contamination and a muddy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy stream with nothing in it to perch on or to eat: it was a Hyloscirtus-stream, and that means environmental quality," the study authors wrote in the opening paragraph of their paper, published in the journal ZooKeys. (The paragraph is an adaptation of the famous first lines of "The Hobbit.")
The frog, found during surveys in 2020, is 2.6 inches long, lives 3190 meters in elevation, and is easily distinguishable from other Hyloscirtus species — of which there are 39 —because of its coloration.
"The encounter of this frog was very surprising," Sánchez-Nivicela told Insider in an email interview. "While we were sampling near a ravine and making our way through the vegetation, the only specimen so far known jumped in our direction. The coloration patterns were not at all similar to what was seen in other frogs of the same genus — we knew immediately."
Because only one Hyloscirtus tolkieni has been discovered thus far, there is still much to learn about how many exist and in what regions they live. The authors noted in their statement that deforestation, unsustainable agricultural practices, and other environmental threats have been damaging to species in the Andes mountain regions. About 57% of amphibian species in Ecuador are threatened by extinction.
Sánchez-Nivicela told Insider that the mountainous forest where the stream frog lives is full of "fantastic landscapes" of moss and rich vegetation. The study authors noted in a statement that the protected area is how they've been able to discover a significant number of species since 2020.
"I imagined it as the Fangorn forest, south of the Misty Mountains and this frog living with the Ents," Sánchez-Nivicela said.
Sánchez-Nivicela said that the reaction to the new frog has been well received by fans, and personally delivered the news to social media pages and blogs dedicated to the late author and his fantasy worlds.
He and his colleagues are also fans. Sánchez-Nivicela described himself and his coworkers as "dreamers" whose jobs have taken them to places similar to scenic landscapes represented in books and art.
"Personally, The Lord of the Rings books came into my life at the right time and have been my companion ever since," Sánchez-Nivicela said. "To think that one can contribute to solving the great conflicts of the world without being one of the great characters that everyone expects, without coming from a kingdom or a castle, allows me to dream in that world."
The stream frog will take its place among other amphibians that could exist in Middle Earth — including a stubby, wood-loving frog named after Bilbo Baggins that lives on the other side of the Atlantic.