Thursday, April 20, 2017 11:15 am

Santa Catarina, Brazil -- Klabin, Brazil's largest paper producer and exporter, has registered for the first time at its State Natural Heritage Private Reserve (RPPN) called the Serra da Farofa Complex, the environmental conservation and preservation unit maintained by the company in the state of Santa Catarina, the beautiful and delicate glass frog, a rare and endangered amphibian.

The Vitreorana uranoscopa species, which measures between 19 and 25 mm, is typically found in the Southern Atlantic Forest of Brazil and belongs to the Centrolenidae family.Its population is small and inhabits preserved fragments of riparian forests, laying eggs on the leaves that hang over the creeks during the breeding season. The unique features of this species are its translucent body and the sound it emits, which is similar to a spoon knocking on a crystal glass and which enabled its discovery.

The amphibian could be identified, thanks to the fauna monitoring activities carried out by Klabin, which underlines the importance of maintaining a pristine environment that offers the ideal conditions for preserving biodiversity.Apart from the glass frog, 79 other species were discovered in the RPPN, including amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, of which six are on the red list of endangered species and use this conservation unit as their shelter.

Klabin has been sponsoring environmental monitoring programs for wildlife in Santa Catarina for 14 years and, during this period, has already identified over 350 species of regional fauna over the more than 11,000 hectares monitored by the company.