Frog Bonanza in Madagascar
The island of Madagascar, off the coast of Africa, is an environmental hot spot in two ways — one good, one bad. On the plus side, the island is considered one of the most biologically diverse places on Earth. A May study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed that, if anything, that's an understatement. Scientists identified an astonishing 129 to 221 brand-new species of frogs, which almost doubles the number of amphibian species on the island in a single stroke. And if amphibians were so seriously undercounted, said researchers, a thorough survey might well find the same to be true of other animal groups. Unfortunately, there's also a minus side: Madagascar has already lost some 80% of its rain forest — crucial habitat for its many species — to logging, and despite some effort to preserve the rest, there's a real danger that one of the most biodiverse places on the planet could be losing more species than anywhere else.