Often referred to as the father of modern fantasy, author J.R.R. Tolkien created a larger than life world inhabited by goblins, giant spiders and fire-breathing dragons.
His namesake has now been given to a decidedly less terrifying creature, a l Zoo Keys.
“It would seem that it lives in a universe of fantasies, like those created by Tolkien,” the researchers wrote in a news release. “The truth is that the tropical Andes are magical ecosystems where some of the most wonderful species of flora, funga, and fauna in the world are present.”
Upon finding the frog, researchers named it Hyloscirtus tolkieni after the acclaimed English writer and scholar.
“All three authors are admirers of Professor Tolkien’s work,” Juan Sánchez-Nivicela, a biologist at the National University of Colombia and co-author of the study, told McClatchy News over email.
After immersing himself in the works of Tolkien, particularly “The Lord of the Rings,” Sánchez-Nivicela now sees parallels between the author’s fantastical creations and the mystical jungle world he traverses while on field expeditions.
The striking color pattern seen on the newfound species evokes the “magnificent creatures” that populate the world of fantasy, the researchers said.
The creature — also distinguished by its large body size, “robust” forearms and pale pink eyes — spends its life in the freshwater brooks of the Río Negro-Sopladora National Park, a protected area spanning 75,000 acres in southern Ecuador.
Because so little is known about Hyloscirtus tolkieni, researchers recommended elevating its conservation status and risk of extinction, and they called for further research and monitoring of the species.
Amphibians, which play a vital role in the stability of ecosystems, including as pest controllers, are in a precarious position in Ecuador, considered to be one of the most biodiverse countries on Earth.
The majority of the country’s amphibians, 57%, are imperiled by extinction, researchers said.
Habitat loss — often resulting from agricultural expansion and mining and oil activity — is considered one of the primary causes of the decline in amphibian populations, according to a 2021 study published in the journal PLOS One.
This “sad reality of the world we live in” also factored into Sánchez-Nivicela’s decision to name the new frog after Tolkien, whose fiction has a theme of environmental stewardship, according to the book “Ents, Elves, and Eriador: The Environmental Vision of J.R.R. Tolkien.”
The sustainable agrarian lifestyle of Tolkien’s hobbits is put in stark contrast to Sauron and Saruman’s environmental degradation in the name of greed, the book’s authors write.
Tolkien “deserves proper recognition through a species that evokes this entire world and that is so fragile,” Sánchez-Nivicela said.
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