CMIS Evaluation

 The day has been initiated by Save the Frogs group dedicated to amphibian conservation. On their website there is a great amount of information about frogs. 

 Coincidentally and in time for this celebration, the Western Australian Museum “Frog” Team have dicovered two new species in the Kimberley. Read about this exciting discovery and much more at the museum’s Frogwatch pages.

Students and teachers can also learn more about Frogs on the CMIS Frog Theme page.

What better way to celebrate the Year of the Frog  than with the discovery of a new frog. 

A PHD researcher with the WA Museum discovered the Southern Sandhill Frog in the dunes near Kalbarri Western Australia.    
New-frog-discovery  – PDF from the WA Museum.

 It appears that the Southern Sandhill Frog has lived in the area for more than five million years since diverging genetically from its cousin, the Northern Sandhill Frog.

It is interesting to note that there have been other discoveries of new species around the world which give some hope to frog survival.

• The Lungless Frog in Indonesian Borneo, which gets its oxgen through the skin.
• The Shrub Frog discovered in the evergreen forests of the Kakkayam Reserve Forest in Kerala, India

Teachers can use the CMIS Theme page on FROGS to explore the topic further.

Image © Amphibian Ark

In 2008, Amphibian Ark will lead zoos, botanical gardens and aquariums in a globally coordinated public awareness campaign. The main goal of this campaign is to generate public awareness and understanding of the amphibian extinction crisis, which represents the greatest species conservation challenge in the history of humanity.

Frogs resources and classroom activities:
Frogs CMIS Curriculum Context and Resources

Key Frog websites
Amphibian Ark
WA Museum ALCOA Frogwatch
WWF Australia Frogs! Program
Frogs Australia Network
ScienceNetwork WA