Brandon Ballengée

Species Reclamation Via a Non-linear Genetic Timeline; An Attempted Hymenochirus Curtipes Model Induced By Controlled Breeding, 2000

live specimens, varied housing, preserved specimens, digital photographs, Apple Powerbook; dimensions variable (detail)

This piece attempts to selectively breed aquatic frogs originating from the Congo region of Africa. Hymenochirus curtipes was once a widely distributed species that over the past forty years may have been depleted from its native habitat, perhaps become obsolete. (It has not been proven that H. curtipes is extinct from the Congo.) By controlled pairing of related species and/or subspecies, I hope to generate an H. curtipes model by literally breeding backwards, in an attempt to recapture surface traits through various generations. Recent literature suggests that biodiversity in the Congo is threatened by slash-and-burn clearing of forests and by increased economic demand for logging. Political chaos and civil turmoil in the newly established Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly Zaire, over the past decade have severely retarded biological studies. Amphibian populations are declining at an unprecedented rate worldwide. The data available on the remaining species in the Congo is inconclusive.

Technical and theoretical support was provided by the following individuals and institutions: Dr. George Rabb, director, and staff, The Chicago Zoological Park, USA; Mr. Lawrence Wallace, Herpetological Department, Carolina Biological Supply, USA; Dr. Randon Feinsod, Exotics Department, The North Shore Animal Clinic, USA; Mr. David Cecere, The African Dwarf Frog Educational Website; The Department of Zoology and Marine Biology, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; The Herpetological Department, The Bronx Zoo, USA; Dr. Stanley Sessions and staff, Biology Department, Hartwick College, USA; Mr. Peter Warny, The New York State Museum, USA; The Herpetological Department, The American Museum of Natural History, USA; The Declining Amphibian Population Task Force, Department of Biology, The Open University, UK