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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.
科学家们一直都在发现新物种，大约每年会发现15,000种。而最近添加到这棵生命之树名单中的，是一种新品种的豹纹蛙。这项发现听起来并不值得大惊小怪，除了它的发现地点——纽约。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，为什么一只豹纹蛙在纽约这个“大苹果”里，却没引人注目？单单从外表来看，即使非常专业的专家们也很难把这种新物种和它的南北方近亲们区别开来。但是这个新品种有着不同的叫声，这引起了生态学家们的怀疑。所以他们研究了这个豹纹蛙家族中的4种不同的叫声——甚至包括一种在自由女神区活动的蛙——并采集了它们DNA的样本。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]
正如他们所怀疑的，这种有着独特叫声的豹纹蛙并非南方或北方的品种，甚至也不是杂交的品种。他们有着自己的基因血统，也使得他们拥有了新品种的身份。这些研究结果发表在《分子进化和系统发育》杂志上。[ 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.
这些豹纹蛙是坚强的纽约客们——他们的活动区域中心在杨基球场附近。但是研究人员们说：这些城市的两栖动物们面临着农药和传染病的威胁，更别提那些真实生活中的青蛙过河游戏的种种困难了。
