The new species was discovered while searching for new populations of the endangered frog Crossodactylodes itambe in Brazilian mountaintops. The search was guided by a research that indicated potential areas for occurrence of new populations. Four mountains were visited and frogs were found in one of these locations. However DNA results have just confirmed that what was found was not a new population of Crossodactylodes itambe, but a new species of Crossodactylodes.
The new species was found in a single forest at a mountaintop, isolated from other forests patches. The area is covered by the Atlantic Rainforest and bromeliads are located inside the forest, growing on the ground and also on trees. With smaller hands and red fingertips, the new frog lives in a small patchy area at 1700 m above sea level.
Crossodactylodes are small ranged bromeliad-dwelling frogs that live on highlands at the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest. Crossodactylodes species are threatened with extinction, but there is not much information available to evaluate threats to this new species. Now researchers will work on species description to validate the record and start a project on the ecology and population dynamics of the new species.
For more information on this discovery https://www.rufford.org/projects/izabela_menezes_barata