北京时间7月18日消息，据英国广播公司报道，婆罗洲彩虹蟾蜍(Borneo Rainbow Toad)是世界十大消失的两栖动物之一，它因其鲜艳的颜色和苗条的四肢而著称，它从人们的眼前消失87年后，今年6月12日科学家在马来西亚和印尼边界的森林里再次看到它。
濒危婆罗洲彩虹蟾蜍
1924年，欧洲探索家最后一次看到这种蟾蜍，并留下20世纪20年代的唯一一张详细草图，可以用来辨认它。一个科研组在西加里曼丹省附近的马来西亚和印尼边界之间的偏远山区搜索长达数月后，马来西亚砂拉越大学的一名研究生最终在一处海拔较高的地方发现婆罗洲彩虹蟾蜍。这个探索队由科研人员因德拉内尔·达斯领导，探索队员闵平阳(Pui Yong Min)与另一名学生一起仔细检查那片林区时，在一棵树里发现一只这种濒危蟾蜍。
达斯在华盛顿保护国际的吹风会上说：“发现这种美丽的蟾蜍和健康生态系统里至关重要的两栖类动物，这使我们更有信心继续寻找失落的物种。”这些研究人员是保护国际失落蛙种搜寻项目的成员，他们还在附近发现另外两只婆罗洲彩虹蟾蜍，它们的体型在3厘米到5.1厘米之间。成年雌性、成年雄性和幼蛙的外表都非常鲜艳。达斯经过长达数周的长途跋涉，从去年8月开始寻找这种蟾蜍。
失落蛙种搜寻项目的负责人罗宾·摩尔表示，他看到第一批这种蟾蜍的照片时，他简直不敢相信自己的眼睛。他说：“在我的印象里，这种蟾蜍一下子从黑白插图变成了颜色鲜艳、活生生的动物。在我们几乎快要丧失信心的时候，大自然让我们大吃一惊，这简直令人难以置信。”
摩尔称，在海拔那么高的地方发现这种蟾蜍令他感到很好奇。“欧洲探索者发现婆罗洲彩虹蟾蜍的地方海拔较低。从理论上来说，你在这种地方再次发现它们的希望更大。一些研究显示，有些动物已经转移了栖息地，这是它们对气候变化做出的反应。”保护国际失落蛙种搜寻项目从2010年8月开始，在21个国家寻找100种动物。
生物探索推荐英文报道
Lost rainbow toad is rediscovered
A colourful, spindly-legged toad that was believed to be extinct has been rediscovered in the forests of Borneo
Scientists from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) found three of the missing long-legged Borneo rainbow toads up a tree during a night time search.
The team had spent months scouring remote mountain forests for the species.
Prior to these images, only illustrations of the toad had existed.
These were drawn from specimens that were collected by European explorers in the 1920s.
Conservation International, which launched its Global Search for Lost Amphibians in 2010, had listed the toad as one of the "world's top 10 most wanted frogs".
Dr Indraneil Das led a team that searched the ridges of the Gunung Penrissen range of Western Sarawak, a boundary between Malaysia's Sarawak State and Indonesia's Kalimantan Barat Province.
After several months of night-long expeditions, one of Dr Das's graduate students eventually spotted a small toad in the high branches of a tree.
Lost hope
"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," said Dr Das.
Sketch of the Ansonia latidisca Sketch of the Ansonia latidisca, previously the only image depicting what the mysterious toad looked like
"They remind us that nature still holds precious secrets that we are still uncovering."
Dr Robin Moore of Conservation International, who launched the Global Search for Lost Amphibians, was delighted by the discovery.
He said: "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.
"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."
