That's a sick discovery: Bizarre new species of ant is found in poisonous 'little devil' frog's VOMIT
By FAISAL - 2:55 AM
- Researchers found a new species of ant in the contents of a frog's stomach
- Frog was found in Ecuador, belongs to the species known as 'little devil'
- Ant was dead and only one specimen was found, so information is limited
- But the insect has a long mouth, thought to be used for finding its food
- Frog vomit might not strike you as the most exciting of substances.But the contents of the amphibians' stomachs is a treasure trove for researchers hunting for new species of ants.In the latest of these discoveries, scientists have identified a new species of ant in the vomit of a poisonous frog found in Ecuador.
Scientists have identified a new species of ant (pictured) in the vomit of a 'devil's frog', a poisonous frog found in Ecuador. The newly discovered ant, which is less than a quarter of an inch long, may use its long mouth to capture preyTHE NEW ANT SPECIES
The new ant, Lenomyrmex hoelldobleri, 'was discovered in a stomach content sample of the dendrobatid frog' the researchers, led by Professor Christian Rabeling, wrote.Since there is only one specimen of the ant and it is dead, little information is known about it.It has a long mouth, which could be used by the ant to catch even smaller animals hiding in crevices.The new ant, which is less than a quarter of an inch long, was found in the vomit from a species known as the little devil frog, or 'rana diablito' in Spanish.Frogs can often be a good way to discover new species of insects, the researchers say, because they forage and can reach places humans cannot.The scientists capture wild poisonous frogs, Oophaga sylvatica, and flush out their bellies.Then they search the vomit to see what discoveries it could be hiding.The researchers, from the University of Rochester in New York, described the ant in a paper published in the open access journal ZooKeys.
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