Some endangered frogs may be leaping back from extinction

Variable harlequin frogs (Atelopusvarious) and many other amphibians in the lush forests of Panama have been slammed by a globe-creeping fungus. The murderous pathogen attacks frogs, toads, salamanders and wormlike creatures called caecilians, and when it reached Panama early in this century the frogs vanished along streams where they had once been abundant. That's why the scientific community took notice this year when researchers announced that some of the vanished frogs were popping up again.