It's not often human witness the passing of a species. The simple odds of probability are against it. But today, scientists are fairly sure they have indeed witnessed the final moments of a species, just as they did in 1914 when the last passenger pigeon died, or in 2012, when Lonesome George, the last Pinta Island giant tortoise died. This time, the species in question was the Rabb's fringe-limbed tree frog. Last seen in the wild in 2007, a single male fringe-limbed tree frog nicknamed "Toughie" was retained in the Atlanta Botanical Garden, until his death this morning.
The reason for the frog's likely extinction is the spread of chytridomycosis, a disease caused by a fungus that grows parasitically on frogs and other amphibians. Originally confined to the tropics, chytridomycosis has spread around the world and made dozens of species of amphibians extinct, or nearly so. The reason for its spread is thought to be global warming due to greenhouse gases put into the atmosphere by humans, which create a more benign environment for the fungus.
Other species affected by chytridomycosis, which may or may not be extinct, include the Australian gastric brooding frog, the spiny-kneed leaf frog, and the golden toad. All of these lived in tropical regions where global warming made chytrid fungus even more widespread than it already was.
Chytridomycosis attacks its victims by clogging the pores in their skin. Since most amphibians breathe through the skin (few have lungs), this results in death from lack of oxygen.
If there is a silver lining to any of this, it is that perhaps the Rabb's fringe-limbed tree frog may not be extinct forever. Cloning technology has already been tested on another type of frog, the African clawed fro, and viable embryos have been created. Perhaps one day, one genetic engineering has matured enough, the Rabb's fringe-limbed tree frog will make a comeback.
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