New report details historic mass extinction of amphibians
Monday, August 11, 2008 - 19:49
in Paleontology & Archaeology
Dead southern mountain yellow-legged frogs (Rana muscosa) killed by the chytrid fungus. Sixty Lake Basin, Kings Canyon National Park, California USA. Amphibians, reigning survivors of past mass extinctions, are sending a clear, unequivocal signal that something is wrong, as their extinction rates rise to unprecedented levels, according to a paper published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Humans are exacerbating two key natural threats – climate change and a deadly disease that is jumping from one species to another.