Twelve new species of frog found in India’s Western Ghats

A dozen frogs new to science have been discovered in the forests of Western Ghats (Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka. Goa, Maharashtra, and part of Gujarat).

Amphibian researchers S D Biju of Delhi University Systematics Lab and Franky Bossuyt of the Amphibian Evolution Lab of the Vrije Universiteit in Brussels have published their discoveries in the latest issue of Zoological Journal of Linnean Society, London.

The paper in Zoological Journal of Linnean Society describes the discovery of 12 new species including the revision of the genus Philautus. These findings are the result of 10 years of extensive field study in the Western Ghats throughout its 1600 km range. Field studies were complemented by DNA research. This publication is unique because it is the first publication that describes a large number of vertebrate novelties in independent India.

Biju and Bossuyt have added 18 new species in just 4 years from 2005 to 2008.

Rediscovery:
This study has rediscovered a ‘lost species'. Travancore bushfrog (Philautus travancoricus) which was considered extinct as it was last reported more than a 100 years ago. In this study the species was rediscovered from a highly degraded environment in its original locality.

Western Ghats:
The Western Ghats mountain range stretches 1600 km from extreme southern tip of Indian peninsula in Mahendragiri in Kanyakumari district up to Tapti river basin in Gujarat. The Ghats have yielded spectacular amphibian discoveries including the Purple frog described in 2003. The discoveries include the new family of frog Nasikabatrachidae, the smallest Indian tetrapod- Nyctibatrachus minimus, the first Indian canopy frog-Philautus nerostagona and others.

Vanishing frog habitat:
This discovery further highlights the need to conserve species and their habitat in the Western Ghats. Forests here continue to be threatened and large areas are being destroyed for plantation and urbanization. The Western Ghats is home to a large number of endemic species that are not found outside the Ghats. Seemingly small disturbances in their habitat could wipe out several species. Seven of the 12 new species were only found in unprotected areas which have been deforested in the last 40 years. Habitats are rapidly disappearing and immediate steps are required to protect the remaining forests from human activities like plantation and urbanization. Scientific conservation should replace thoughtless exploitation of natural resources.

Need for focus on amphibians:
Many species of amphibians are disappearing due to transformation of natural habitat to land for cultivation and urbanisation. IUCN Global amphibian assessment has recorded that we have lost 200 amphibian species since 1980 and one in three surviving amphibian species are threatened with extinction. This is alarming and calls for strong and sustained efforts from conservationists and forest managers to conserve this vanishing diversity.