Rainbow Toad Found in Borneo

Scientists in Borneo have rediscovered a creature thought to have become extinct.

Three colorful Borneo rainbow toads, which had not been verifiably seen since 1924, was spotted by researchers from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) on a tree during a late night surveillance.

The UNIMAS team had spent months in the island’s remote mountain jungles in the Gunung Penrissen range of Western Sarawak to look for the creature.

A graduate student of team leader Dr Indraneil Das noticed the toad on the high branches of a tree.

Thrilling discoveries like this beautiful toad, and the critical importance of amphibians to healthy ecosystems, are what fuel us to keep searching for lost species, Das told BBC.

They remind us that nature still holds precious secrets that we are still uncovering.
Conservation International, which introduced its Global Search for Lost Amphibians in 2010, included the toad as one of the world's top 10 most wanted frogs.
Dr Robin Moore of Conservation International, gushed to reporters: To see the first pictures of a species that has been lost for almost 90 years defies belief. It is good to know that nature can surprise us when we are close to giving up hope, especially amidst our planet's escalating extinction crisis.
Moore added: Amphibians are at the forefront of this tragedy, so I hope that these unique species serve as flagships for conservation, inspiring pride and hope by Malaysians and people everywhere.