Kochi, March 3
Researchers from India and the US have discovered five new species of shrub frogs from the Western Ghats, one of the globally recognised biodiversity hotspots.
The frogs, belonging to the the Old World tree frog family Rhacophoridae, were discovered by researchers from University of Delhi and Kerala Forest Research Institute and University of Minnesota as part of a long comprehensive study on the Shrub frogs (genus Raorchestes) of the Western Ghats, carried out over a period of nearly 10 years.
Researchers said the new species were identified and found to be distinct based on multiple criteria, such as their external morphology, DNA, calling pattern, behaviour, and other natural history observations.
The findings are published in a scientific article titled 'An integrative approach to infer systematic relationships and define species groups in the shrub frog (genus Raorchestes), with description of five new species from the Western Ghats, India'.
The authors are Sonali Garg, Robin Suyesh, Sandeep Das, Mark A Bee, and Prof S D Biju and it is published in the current issue of the International journal 'PeerJ'.
The study was carried out under the leadership of Delhi University Professor Biju.
According to the researchers, over 80 per cent of the globally known shrub frogs are restricted to the Western Ghats, and most species are known to have narrow geographical ranges.
For the first time, male calls for as many as 48 species of shrub frogs were studied, they said.
According to the study, the shrub frogs of the genus Raorchestes exhibit highly unique and diverse eye colour and patterns.
Biju, who is the head of Department of Environmental studies in Delhi University, said the study was a testament to how little is known about the most threatened group of vertebrates in India.
"Shrub frogs are among the most researched groups of frogs in India, with frequent new discoveries being made over the past two decades.Yet, we are far from fully understanding their existing diversity and uniqueness." "Our work has once again added new insights on what we thought we knew about this group of frogs, from how to identify different species and their affinities to each other, to where they live and how vulnerable they may be to various anthropogenic threats," he said.
Scientists are now tracing potential evidence for population decline of the five newly discovered species, and any threats that they may be facing within their known ranges, in order to protect them from extinction.
"Several new species are often threatened even before they are formally named and known to science. Many of these may already be extinct before they are discovered." "It is an unfortunate fate that scientists call as the nameless extinction," said Sonali Garg, the lead author of the study. PTI
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