Extinct Frog Rediscovered in 2011; World Takes Notice in 2013

What was once lost has now been found. Well, it was actually found about a year and a half ago, but most people just seem to be noticing now.The Hula painted frog was probably never common. The species, native to just a few small habitats in Israel, was only recorded by scientists on a couple of occasions, the first time in 1940 when two frogs were collected for study. (One of them ate the other in the lab.) One more specimen was collected in 1955. After that, nada . Pollution and development dried up the marshes where the frog had been seen, and it looked as if the species had disappeared as a result. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) declared it likely extinct in 1988. After eight more years (and many searches) the organization finally declared it extinct, making it the first modern-day amphibian to be labeled as such by the IUCN. [More]