Listen: Whistling frogs that sound like Star Trek

‘We named them after the captains from the sci-fi series,’ says leader of team that discovered newly identified amphibians in Madagascar

Frogs that whistle “like sound effects from Star Trek” have been discovered by scientists.
Most people would associate frogs with croaking, but the newly identified animals in Madagascar, an island off the southeastern coast of Africa, emit special bird-like whistling sounds in their communication with other Boophis species frogs, commonly known as bright-eyed or skeleton frogs.
These noises reminded the research team, led by Prof Miguel Vences of the Technische Universitat Braunschweig, Germany, of the sound effects on Star Trek.
“That’s why we named the frogs after Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway, Archer, Burnham and Pike – seven of the most iconic captains from the sci-fi series,” said Prof Vences.
Mark Scherz, assistant professor of vertebrate zoology, from the Natural History Museum of Denmark at the University of Copenhagen, who was senior author on the study, said: “Not only do these frogs sound like sound effects from Star Trek, but it seems also fitting that to find them, you often have to do quite a bit of trekking.
“A few species are found in places accessible to tourists, but to find several of these species, we had to undertake major expeditions to remote forest fragments and mountain peaks.
“There’s a real sense of scientific discovery and exploration here, which we think is in the spirit of Star Trek.”
The calls of these frogs are known as advertisement calls – a type of self-promotion that might convey information about the male frog’s suitability as a mate to females, researchers say.
The group that they found lives in the rainforest along fast-flowing streams in the most mountainous regions of Madagascar – a loud background that may explain why the frogs call at such high pitches.
For those who are not fans of Star Trek, the calls might sound like a bird or an insect.
Dr Jorn Kohler, senior curator of vertebrate zoology at the Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt, Germany, said: “If the frogs just croaked like our familiar European frogs, they might not be audible over the sound of rushing water from the rivers they live near.
“Their high-pitched trills and whistles stand out against all that noise.”
The researchers hope their findings, published in the Vertebrate Zoology journal, will strengthen conservation efforts in Madagascar’s rainforests.