The Syrian Spadefoot Toad has been rediscovered in the war-torn country with the help of Syrian community scientists and Illinois researchers.
“Community Science Rediscovers the Syrian Spadefoot Toad, Pelobates syriacus, in War-Torn Regions of Syria” was published in the journal Herpetological Conservation and Biology Dec. 16, 2024, just days after a major shift in the 13-year-long civil war resulted in the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime.
Read the full story here: https://blogs.illinois.edu/view/7447/548136227
[Photo: Adult Syrian Spadefoot Toad discovered in a greenhouse in Burj Arab, Tartous Governorate, Syria, March 18, 2022. This was the second confirmed sighting of the species in the region. Photo by Naeil Khosam.]