NORTHERN DARWIN’S FROG NOT THE FITTEST

During his 19th-century around-the-world voyage aboard the HMS Beagle, famed British naturalist Charles Darwinmade numerous discoveries that helped him formulate his theories of evolution. One of the creatures he discovered during this voyage, the Darwin’s frog, escapes predators by camouflaging itself as a dead leaf. However, this evolutionary advantage was not enough to save it. Researchers suspect that a fungal disease called chytridiomycosis wiped out the northern Darwin’s frog species completely and is also killing off large numbers of the southern species. This could be one of only a few known examples of extinction by infection. More… Discuss