Third of red-listed species on brink of extinction

A rare tree frog discovered four years ago which lives only in central Panama could soon become extinct, environmental experts warned today.

The Rabb's fringe-limbed tree frog, the only known species where tadpoles feed off skin shed by the male while he guards the young, is one of 1,895 amphibian species that could soon disappear because of deforestation and infection, says the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The group surveyed 47,677 animals and plants for this year's Red List and found nearly a third are close to extinction.

The survey featured more than 2,800 new species than last year, including the Panay monitor lizard which is hunted for food and threatened by logging in the Philippines.

The Kihansi spray toad of Tanzania is thought to be extinct because dams are drying up.

"These results are the tip of the iceberg," said the conservation group's Craig Hilton-Taylor. "Many more millions" could be under threat.