Peruvian scientists have identified three new-to-science frog species in the Andes, highlighting the mountains’ wealth of biodiversity, according to a recent study.

The three species have been named Pristimantis chinguelas, P. nunezcortezi and P. yonke.

“They’re small and unassuming, but these frogs are powerful reminders of how much we still don’t know about the Andes,” study lead author Germán Chávez, from the Peruvian Institute of Herpetology (IPH), said in a statement.

Between 2021 and 2024, Chávez and his colleagues embarked on several challenging expeditions around the remote Cordillera de Huancabamba, a rugged range of the Andes in northwestern Peru. During each nightly hike of five to six hours, the researchers would scan the ground, vegetation and water edges with headlamps for amphibians. This ultimately led them to find the three previously unknown frog species. The mountain range serves as a natural corridor for wildlife and is home to “many unique amphibian species,” the authors write.

“Many of these mountain ridges are isolated, with no roads and extreme terrain,” Ivan Wong, study co-author from IPH, said in the statement. “The weather shifts within minutes, and the steep cliffs make every step a challenge. It’s no wonder so few scientists have worked here before. But that’s exactly why there’s still so much to find.”

P. chinguelas was found on a cliffside of Cerro Chinguelas, the mountain it’s named after. The frog has distinctive, prominent wart-like bumps and makes a high-pitched “peep.” The male frogs the team analyzed were around 3.5 centimeters (1.4 inches) long from snout to vent — around the length of a paperclip.

P. nunezcortezi was spottednear a mountain stream on the eastern slope of Cerro Chinguelas. The frog has large black blotches where its legs meet its body. The researchers named it after ornithologist Elio Nuñez-Cortez, “a conservation trailblazer in the region,” the authors write. The analyzed male frogs were roughly 3.8 cm (1.5 in) long.

P. yonke, the smallest at 1.93 cm (0.76 in) long, or about the size of the average person’s thumbnail, was found in a bromeliad plant. The team named it after the traditional sugarcane spirit called yonke or yonque, which locals in the northwestern Andes drink to keep warm during their travels.

The authors recommend that all three species be listed as data deficient under the IUCN Red List because of the current lack of data to assess their conservation status. But they say that habitat loss was evident in the area where they found the frogs. The researchers added that degradation from fire damage, agriculture and cattle ranching can be seen on satellite images of the region from Global Forest Watch.

“The Cordillera de Huancabamba is not just a remote range — it’s a living archive of biodiversity and cultural legacy,” Wilmar Aznaran, study co-author from IPH, told Earth.com. “And we’ve barely scratched the surface.”

Banner image of Pristimantis chinguelas, P. nunezcortezi and P. yonke (clockwise from left) courtesy of Germán Chávez.