New species of frog discovered in Amazon

A bizarre-looking, brand new, species of frog has been discovered in the Amazon rainforest.

It's called Synapturanus danta but is more commonly known as a tapir frog because of its resemblance to the large-nosed Amazonian mammal, which has a trunk-like nose.

The new species has been found at the lower Putumayo basin in Loreto, Peru.

It has a dark brownish-red body and is really tiny, measuring just 1.79cm in length.

Locals in Peru have known about the frog's existence for a long time but, until now, scientists haven't been able to verify its existence because it burrows underground and is really small.

It has an ideal body shape for burrowing, and scientists think it has adapted to the soft soil of the Amazonian rainforest.

An international team of researchers were only able to find it by tracking its 'beeping' calls through the soil and digging on their hands and knees.

How have the frogs stayed hidden for so long?

The frog gets its name because of its resemblance to the long nosed Amazonian mammal, the tapir

"The frogs are tiny, about the size of a quarter, they're brown, they're underground, and they're quick." said Michelle Thompson, a researcher in the Keller Science Action Center at Chicago's Field Museum.

"You know these little frogs are somewhere underground, but you just don't see them hopping around.

"These frogs are really hard to find, and that leads to them being understudied. It's an example of the Amazon's hidden diversity, and it's important to document it to understand how important the ecosystem functions," she added.

How did they find the frogs?

The researchers had to rely on the distinctive "beep-beep" sound made by the frogs in order to try and get hold of them.

"We could hear them underground, going beep-beep-beep, and we'd stop, turn off our lights, and dig around, and then listen for it again," said Thompson.

"After a few hours, one hopped out of his little burrow, and we were screaming, 'Somebody grab it!'"