41% of Earth’s amphibians deemed threatened with extinction, assessment finds

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Open this photo in gallery: A researcher holds a Coqui Guajon or Rock Frog at a tropical forest in Patillas, Puerto Rico, on March 21, 2013.Ricardo Arduengo/The Associated Press Earth’s amphibians – from the thorny spike-thumb frog to the red knobby newt, West African giant squeaker, ornate tree toad and fire salamander – are being pushed closer to the brink due to habitat destruction, disease and climate change, with 41 per cent of species now threatened with extinction. Those are the findings of a new global assessment unveiled by conservationists on Wednesday of 8,011 species of amphibians – vertebrates that...