Scientists studying Boophis marojezensis, a tree frog in Madagascar, discovered that it is actually seven distinct species.
Their results showed that what was previously thought to be only one frog species is actually eight different ones. Physically, they look almost identical, says [Danish researcher Mark]Scherz. "The key differences are in the sounds that they make. Their ear-splitting, high-pitched, whistling calls differ both in pitch and in timing of the whistles." The DNA sequencing also showed genetic differences, confirming they are different species.
The calls the frogs make reminded the team of Star Trek sound effects, so they named the new species after seven Star Trek captains: Boophis archeri, Boophis burnhamae, Boophis janewayae, Boophis kirki, Boophis picardi, Boophis pikei, and Boophis siskoi.
A commenter on Reddit lamented the lack of a frog named after Captain Freeman from the criminally underappreciated animated Star Trek show Lower Decks, to which Scherz himself replied:
Here's hoping that they find more frogs that may or may not sound like Star Trek sound effects. You can listen to the frogs here and decide for yourself.
Previously: Here are the cutest frogs on the internet
