In response to a call to seek out possibly extinct amphibian species, conservationists have rediscovered two frog species and one type of salamander that had been on the list of the missing.

Conservation International and the IUCN Amphibian Specialist Group kicked off the search last month, and since then scientists have fanned out to look for scores of missing amphibians on the list. In a statement released today, Conservation International said the rediscovery of three species — decades after they went missing and were presumed extinct — serves as a "cause for celebration" as well as a reminder of the "shocking decline in the world's amphibian species in recent decades, with more than a third of all amphibians threatened with extinction."

The endangered status of frogs, toads and salamanders is thought to be due to a variety of causes, including fungal infections, pollution, loss of habitat and climate change.

Many of the species being sought make their homes in hard-to-get-to places, which adds to the difficulty of the quest. That's certainly the case for the three species that have been rediscovered:

N’Goran Kouame / Conservation International

Hyperolius nimbae was rediscovered in Ivory Coast.

• Mount Nimba Reed Frog (Hyperolius nimbae), from Ivory Coast, was last seen in 1967. "Small and well-camouflaged brown frog rediscovered by local scientist N’Goran Kouame from the University of Abobo-Adjame." The find was made "in a swampy field in Danipleu, an Ivorian village near the Liberia border."

• Omaniundu Reed Frog (Hyperolius sankuruensis), from Democratic Republic of Congo, was last seen in 1979. "Beautiful frog with bright green — almost fluorescent-looking — spots on a dark brown background. Rediscovered by Jos Kielgast from The Natural History Museum of Denmark." Here's more about Kielgast's hunt for the frog: "He discovered it while night searching areas of inundated primary forest along a tributary of the Congo River. He heard its call, and searched for the frog for over an hour. They are only active late in the night, and their call is short and infrequent. In the daytime they rest in an extremely cryptic color phase, making them nearly impossible to find. Initially Kielgast was led to believe that it was a new species by established experts but then later figured out that it was in fact H. sankuruensis."

Sean Rovito / Conservation International

Chiropterotriton mosaueri was found in a Mexican cave.

• Cave Splayfoot Salamander (Chiropterotriton mousaueri) was found in Mexico's Hidalgo province. "Not seen since the discovery of a single individual in 1941. Pink-footed, brown salamander that is believed to live underground in cave systems. Several were found by scientist Sean Rovito from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, in a cave system which is only accessible by abseiling down a large pothole." Rovito's quest was arduous: "The locals took him to a cave, used as a source of water for the community. Just before sundown Rovito lowered himself into the cave with very low expectations of finding the species. Shortly after he spotted a large adult salamander with a long tail atop a rock on the cave floor. He knew it looked different from any other species he had seen."

"These are fantastic finds and could have important implications for people as well as for amphibians." Conservation International's Robin Moore said in today's statement. "We don’t know whether study of these animals could provide new medicinal compounds — as other amphibians have, and at least one of these animals lives in an area that is important to protect as it provides drinking water to urban areas. But these rediscovered animals are the lucky ones — many other species we have been looking for have probably gone for good."

Despite the odds, the search goes on, focusing on the world's top 10 "lost" amphibians. More rediscoveries are expected to be announced at the Convention on Biological Diversity, scheduled to take place next month in Nagoya, Japan. Check out the "Search for Lost Frogs" website for more about the quest — and while you're clicking around, browse through these archived reports about species lost and found:

• Amphibians wanted ... alive
• Deep-sea creatures of the Coral Sea
• The top 10 new species from 2009
• Beautiful biodiversity in Brazil
• New Guinea's 'Lost World' revisited
• Indonesia's 'Garden of Eden'
• Papua New Guinea's new species
• Marine marvels from Papua New Guinea
• Biological treasures from Borneo
• Celebrities of the Celebes Sea
• 12 froggy finds from India
• Fantastic frogs from Colombia
• Aliens lurk in Antarctic depths
• The strange species of Suriname
• Vulnerable new species in Brazil
• Discoveries from Vietnam's 'Green Corridor'
• Endangered species of the Mekong Delta
• New species from Australia's coral reefs
• Thousands of new species in ocean's depths
• Hundreds of new species amid the Himalayas
• New species found Down Under .. underground
• Eight 'extinct' species found alive and kicking  

Join the Cosmic Log corps by signing up as my Facebook friend or hooking up on Twitter. And if you really want to be friendly, ask me about "The Case for Pluto."

Conservationists are putting out an all points bulletin for dozens of possibly extinct species of frogs, toads and salamanders, including the world's "Ten Most Wanted" amphibians.

The search, led by Conservation International and the IUCN Amphibian Specialist Group, is aimed at rediscovering as many as 40 species in 18 countries across Latin America, Africa and Asia. Conservation International characterizes it as the "first-ever coordinated effort" to find so many lost creatures.

The point of the exercise is not merely to build up somebody's collection of museum specimens, but to document the horrific decline of amphibian species and figure out what to do about it. It's thought that more than 30 percent of all amphibian species are threatened with extinction. In a before-and-after survey of a Panamanian national park, researchers found that nearly 40 percent of the amphibian species in one little area had disappeared between 2004 and 2008.

"Amphibians are particularly sensitive to changes in the environment, so they are often an indicator of damage that is being done to ecosystems," Conservation International's Robin Moore said today in a news release announcing the quest. "But this role as the global 'canary in a coal mine' means that the rapid and profound change to the global environment that has taken place over the last 50 years or so - in particular, climate change and habitat loss - has had a devastating impact on these incredible creatures."

A pathogenic fungus ranks as the deadliest threat to amphibians: The microscopic critters cause a disease called chytridiomycosis, which has wiped out whole species in the Americas. Some frogs have been airlifted to other habitats or relocated to zoo "arks," just to buy time while scientists figure out how to fight the fungus.

To call attention to the search, Conservation International and the IUCN (which issues an annual list of threatened and endangered species) came up with a top-ten list of amphibians they're looking for. The list is based on the scientific as well as aesthetic significance of the species. No. 1 on the list is Costa Rica's golden toad, which was apparently pushed into extinction within just a year or two in the late 1980s. It's not known exactly what caused the die-off, but researchers assume that warming temperatures may have encouraged a fatal fungal outbreak.

Other species are so exotic that they've been spotted only fleetingly and haven't been seen again. Take the case of the Turkestanian salamander, No. 7 on the top-ten list. Several specimens were collected in Central Asia back in 1909, but even those specimens have disappeared. All that survives are the drawings and descriptions.

Check out this slideshow to learn more about the top-ten list.

Searching for seemingly extinct amphibians may sound like a grim task, but recent successes in species conservation have given scientists hope that even "lost" species can be rediscovered and saved.

"The search for these lost animals may well yield vital information in our attempts to stop the amphibian extinction crisis, and information that helps humanity to better understand the impact that we are having on the planet," said Claude Gascon, co-chair of the IUCN Amphibian Specialist Group and executive vide president of Conservation International.

Protecting amphibians isn't just a good idea for the amphibians: Frogs, toads and salamanders play an important part in keeping insects at bay and recycling nutrients. They may even turn out to be a source of next-generation painkillers and other medicines. (In fact, the amphibian-killing fungus may have been transported around the world by a frog that was once exported for use in pregnancy tests.)

Conservation International has set up a Web portal that points to updates in the search for lost amphibians, which leads up to October's global Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya, Japan. In addition to the updates and the top-ten list, you'll find a downloadable "Wanted Alive" poster suitable for posting on a classrooms or a youngster's bulletin board.

More about species lost and found:

• Deep-sea creatures of the Coral Sea
• The top 10 new species from 2009
• Beautiful biodiversity in Brazil
• New Guinea's 'Lost World' revisited
• Indonesia's 'Garden of Eden'
• Papua New Guinea's new species
• Marine marvels from Papua New Guinea
• Biological treasures from Borneo
• Celebrities of the Celebes Sea
• 12 froggy finds from India
• Fantastic frogs from Colombia
• Aliens lurk in Antarctic depths
• The strange species of Suriname
• Vulnerable new species in Brazil
• Discoveries from Vietnam's 'Green Corridor'
• Endangered species of the Mekong Delta
• New species from Australia's coral reefs
• Thousands of new species in ocean's depths
• Hundreds of new species amid the Himalayas
• New species found Down Under .. underground
• Eight 'extinct' species found alive and kicking

Join the Cosmic Log corps by signing up as my Facebook friend or hooking up on Twitter. And if you really want to be friendly, ask me about "The Case for Pluto."