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Scientists discover new species all the time—on the order of 15,000 a year. One of the latest additions to the tree of life is a new type of leopard frog. Which might sound unremarkable, except for where it was found: New York City.
科學家們一直都在發現新物種，大約每年會發現15,000種。而最近添加到這棵生命之樹名單中的，是一種新品種的豹紋蛙。這項發現聽起來并不值得大驚小怪，除了它的發現地點——紐約。2
But how does a frog go unnoticed in the Big Apple? Well even experts have a hard time telling this new species from its northern and southern cousins on looks alone. But the new guy has a different croak, which raised ecologists' suspicions. So they tracked down four leopard frog populations with the unique call—including one within view of the Statue of Liberty—and took DNA samples.
可是，為什么一只豹紋蛙在紐約這個“大蘋果”里，卻沒引人注目？單單從外表來看，即使非常專業的專家們也很難把這種新物種和它的南北方近親們區別開來。但是這個新品種有著不同的叫聲，這引起了生態學家們的懷疑。所以他們研究了這個豹紋蛙家族中的4種不同的叫聲——甚至包括一種在自由女神區活動的蛙——并采集了它們DNA的樣本。2
As they suspected, the odd croakers weren't southern or northern leopard frogs, or even a mix. They had a genetic ancestry of their own—earning them new species status. Those results appear in the journalMolecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. [Catherine E. Newman et al, A new species of leopard frog (Anura: Ranidae) from the urban northeastern US]
正如他們所懷疑的，這種有著獨特叫聲的豹紋蛙并非南方或北方的品種，甚至也不是雜交的品種。他們有著自己的基因血統，也使得他們擁有了新品種的身份。這些研究結果發表在《分子進化和系統發育》雜志上。[ Catherine E. Newman et al, A new species of leopard frog (Anura: Ranidae) from the urban northeastern US ]
The frogs are tough New Yorkers—the center of their range appears to be Yankee Stadium. But the researchers say that the urban amphibians face threats like pesticides and infectious diseases. Not to mention real-life games of Frogger.
這些豹紋蛙是堅強的紐約客們——他們的活動區域中心在楊基球場附近。但是研究人員們說：這些城市的兩棲動物們面臨著農藥和傳染病的威脅，更別提那些真實生活中的青蛙過河游戲的種種困難了。
