2026-08-08 15:48:58 美东夏令时 / 哥伦比亚广播公司/法新社
一种体型小巧、呈绿褐色的夜行蛙类栖息在咖啡种植园中，近日在哥斯达黎加中部太平洋地区被发现，同时它们也面临着当地农业用农用化学品的威胁。
这种体长不足4厘米的蛙类被称为“泉水蛙”，法新社记者在塔拉珠的圣洛伦索观察到了这种带有深绿色斑点的两栖动物。
“这是科学界的新树蛙物种，为哥斯达黎加特有物种，”研究者瓦格纳·查韦斯-阿库纳告诉法新社，该发现由哥斯达黎加大学与阿根廷国家科学技术研究委员会的同事共同完成。
据哥斯达黎加国家两栖爬行动物保护联盟（ANCAR）介绍，这种蛙最早在20世纪60年代被发现，但被错误归类为另一物种。该组织称，研究团队于2021年通过基因与形态学研究重新发现并确认了这一物种。
这种蛙还有另一个显著特征：雄性拥有半透明的喉部，在发出短促尖锐的鸣叫声时会膨胀鼓起。
“到了夜间它们最为活跃时，你能听到它们的鸣叫，它们就栖息在咖啡灌木上，”查韦斯-阿库纳说道。
通常来说，这类蛙会在农作物中寻找阴凉、水分和食物——但它们并不会以咖啡浆果为食，而是以栖息地内的小型昆虫为食。
查韦斯-阿库纳警告称，咖啡种植园使用的农药可能对这些小型两栖动物构成潜在威胁。
“这些有毒物质会通过空气传播……渗入土壤，随后进入蝌蚪发育的水生系统，”查韦斯-阿库纳说道。
据ANCAR介绍，该物种还面临其他威胁，包括垃圾倾倒、旅游业增多以及保护区被入侵导致的植被丧失。
Costa Rica’s recently discovered “coffee frogs” sing in plantations, but pesticides threaten them
2026-08-08 15:48:58 EDT / CBS/AFP
A tiny greenish, nocturnal frog that thrives in coffee plantations was discovered in Costa Rica’s central Pacific region, where it also faces risks from agrochemicals used in farming.
Measuring less than 4 centimeters and known as the “spring frog,” AFP reporters observed the dark green-spotted amphibians in San Lorenzo de Tarrazu.
“It’s a new species of tree frog for science and endemic to Costa Rica,” researcher Wagner Chaves-Acuna told AFP, per the findings of colleagues from the University of Costa Rica and Argentina’s National Council for Scientific and Technical Research.
View of a “Rana de las nacientes” (Isthmohyla nacientes), a newly discovered frog species, in San Jose, Costa Rica, on Aug. 6, 2026. Ezequiel BECERRA /AFP via Getty Images
The tiny frog was first observed in the 1960s, but it was incorrectly identified as another species, according to Costa Rica’s National Alliance for the Conservation of Amphibians and Reptiles (ANCAR). It was rediscovered and confirmed in 2021 through genetic and morphological studies, the organization said.
Also nicknamed the “coffee frog,” the species has another distinctive trait: males have a translucent throat that inflates with their short, high-pitched call.
“At night, when they are most active, you can hear them singing and perched on coffee shrubs,” Chaves-Acuna said.
Generally, frogs seek out shade, moisture and food in the crops — but they are not after the coffee berries, feeding instead on the small insects in the habitat.
Costa Rican scientists from the International Institute for Wildlife Conservation and Management at the National University of Costa Rica photograph a newly discovered frog species, “Rana de las nacientes” (Isthmohyla naciente). Ezequiel BECERRA /AFP via Getty Images
Chaves-Acuna warns that pesticide use on coffee plantations could potentially pose a risk to these tiny amphibians.
“These poisons travel through the air … they seep through the soil and that’s where they enter the aquatic systems where the tadpoles develop,” Chaves-Acuna said.
The species also faces other threats, including waste dumping, increased tourism and the loss of vegetation due to the invasion of protected areas, according to ANCAR.
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