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The brightly hued Bornean rainbow toad would seem hard to miss. |
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Still, the gangly amphibian hadn't been spotted in the wild for nearly a century until it was recently rediscovered by scientists in Malaysian Borneo. |
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顏色鮮艷的婆羅洲彩虹蟾蜍看來實在不太可能會讓人錯過。儘管如此，這種身形瘦長的兩棲類動物卻已有將近一個世紀不曾有人在野外見過，直到最近才被科學家再次發現於馬來西亞的婆羅洲。 |
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Also known as the sambas stream toad, the creature eluded biologists for 87 years until it was found in forests in the Sarawak State's Gunung Penrissen mountain range. |
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這種生物又稱為桑巴斯溪蟾蜍，過去八十七年來一再躲過生物學家的目光，後來才終於在砂勞越州的潘利森山區被人發現。 |
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The colorful critter had never been documented on film until photos were taken by professor Indraneil Das, who led the research team last year and captured the first specimen. |
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An ecologist from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Das described the discovery as "thrilling" and added that the find underlines the importance of targeted protection and conservation. |
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這種色彩繽紛的小動物從來不曾留下影像，一直到去年，印達尼爾．達斯教授率領研究團隊抓到了第一隻樣本，才總算拍下了照片。達斯是馬來西亞砂勞越大學的生態學家，他說這項發現讓人「興奮不已」，並且指出這個成果突顯了目標性的保護與保育活動的重要性。 |
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"Amphibians are indicators of environmental health, with direct implications for human health. |
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Their benefits to people should not be underestimated," Das said in a written statement. |
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「兩棲類動物是環境健全程度的指標，對於人類健康也有直接影響。牠們對人類的益處不該受到低估，」達斯在一份書面聲明中指出。 |
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Das's team found a total of three individual toads, including a juvenile, a female and a male. |
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The specimens were observed in three different locations and they range in length from 30-51 millimeters. |
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達斯的團隊總共發現了三隻蟾蜍，一隻是幼蛙，一隻是母蛙，一隻是公蛙。這三隻蟾蜍分別發現於三個不同地點，體長從三十到五十一公厘不等。 |
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The discovery was part of a larger 'lost' amphibian search conducted last year by Conservation International and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), involving 126 researchers working in 21 countries on five continents. |
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國際保育協會與國際自然保育聯盟在去年舉行較大型的「失落」兩棲類動物搜尋活動，活動參與者包括一百二十六名研究人員，在五大洲的二十一個國家進行，這項發現即是該活動的成果之一。 |
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"It is good to know that nature can surprise us when we are close to giving up hope, especially amidst our planet's escalating extinction crisis," said Robin Moore, an amphibian specialist from Conservation International. |
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「很高興大自然能夠在我們幾乎放棄希望的時候為我們帶來驚喜，尤其目前正值地球的絕種危機愈來愈嚴重，」國際保育協會的兩棲類專家羅賓．摩爾說。 |
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Of all groups of vertebrates, amphibians are the most threatened with over 30% at risk of extinction, according to IUCN. |
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在各種脊椎動物當中，兩棲類是最受威脅的一群，超過百分之三十都面臨了絕種的危機，國際自然保育聯盟指出。 |
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"I hope that these unique species serve as flagships for conservation, inspiring pride and hope by Malaysians and people everywhere," Moore added. |
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「我希望這些獨特的物種能夠成為保育的代表，激發馬來西亞人與各地民眾的驕傲與希望，」摩爾補充道。 |
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