Scientists From Delhi University Have Found New Species Of Frog
Update: 2021-08-21 16:22 IST
A rare species of cascade frog found in Arunachal Pradesh
A rare species of cascade frog has been found in Arunachal Pradesh by a team of researchers from Delhi University (DU) and biologists from the Wildlife Institute of India and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in the United States. It was called after the Adi tribe and the highlands that they live in.
The latest frog species has been dubbed Adi Cascade Frog as it was discovered in the Adi highlands of Arunachal Pradesh including Amolops Adicola. The Adi tribe lives in the hills. According to the experts, the literal meaning of Adi is "hill" or "mountain top."
The results will be presented in a scholarly publication titled 'Phylogenetic position of the little known montane cascade frog Amolops Monticola (Ranidae) and identification of a newly related species within Northeast 2 India' in the Journal of Natural History, London.
Professor S D Biju of DU, who is one of the article's authors said that the whole study shows indeed an evidence of how less is learned about the most threatened animal groups, frogs, in northeastern India. While numerous frogs in this area are said to be widespread, but several have really small geographic ranges and needs different protection efforts before they become extinct. Northeast India is a treasure trove of species that science has yet to discover.
The Adi hills were once known as the Abor hills, according to researchers. The biologists discovered the new species while "conducting an investigation a population of intermediate to big sized Cascade Frogs including scientifically belonging to the genus Amolops from Northeast India throughout the last five years, according to the researchers.
As per the biologists, cascade frogs are named after their affinity for little waterfalls or cascades in running hill streams.
Meanwhile, there search also cleared up century-old taxonomic ambiguities regarding the existence of Amolops Monticola, a cascade frog species identified 150 years ago in the Sikkim Himalayas. While these findings have significant ramifications for the taxonomy and geographical location of numerous other participants found in India and China's neighbouring regions, according to the researchers.