Frogs That Cough

A new frog was found recently. These frogs are said to be found between Connecticut and North Carolina. What makes this frog so interesting is it's distinct call which sounds more like i's coughing than croaking. The frog, Rana kauffeldi (also known as the Atlantic Coast Leopard Frog), is finally being recognized after years of it's existence being discounted. The scientific name of the frog was in honor of ecologist Carl Kauffeld. Kauffeld had claimed the frog existed in 1937 but couldn't gain enough scientific recognition at the time. seventy years later they thought it was only fair to name this tiny frog after him. This new frog isn't considered a new species because of it being so closely related to two other leopard frogs, one from the north and one from the south. This frog is said to cough rather than croak. Researchers have yet to figure out why the call sounds more like a cough.



"New Frog Species Coughs Instead of Croaking" by Richard Farrell. December 3rd 2014. LiveScience

http://i.livescience.com/images/i/000/072/499/iFF/atlantic-coast-leopard-frog.jpg?1417632136

http://www.coloherps.org/reference/species/SpePics/PicRapi.jpg