The Burani Long-Fingered Frog

Cardioglossa cyaneospila was last seen by scientists in 1949 and was feared to be extinct after decades of turmoil in the tiny East African nation.  I couldn’t bear it if it was; I haven’t ever seen a purple frog before. California Academy of Sciences curator David Blackburn and Eli Greenbaum, professor at the University of Texas at El Paso, went to the Bururi Forest Reserve in the southwest part Burundi and found the habitats of the frog were still relatively intact, with populations of rare forest birds and chimpanzees living there as well.

Nobody knows why they have that extra-long ring finger (uh, on each foot).  The mystery just adds to their charm.