New Delhi: New Frog Species (Amoloop Adicola) found in Arunachal Pradesh by researchers have been named after Adi Hills, who is home to the Tribe of Adi, a group of indigenous people from the Himalayan region in the state.
A team of Indian and American biologists from Indian Institutes of Wildlife, Natural Science Museum (US) University of Delhi and North Carolina found a new species of Cascade Frog from Hill Adi.
Historically, this region is also known as Abor Hills.
Biologists are investigating a group of middle to large cascade frogs from northeast India for the past five years.
The cascade frog is named so because of their preferences for small waterfalls or cascade in a flowing hill flow.
The frog is scientifically included in the amolop genus.
The genus is one of the largest groups of Ranid Frogs of Family Ranidae, with currently 73 species known widely distributed throughout northeast and North India, Nepal, Bhutan, China, through Indochina, to the Malay Peninsula.
New species are identified based on various criteria, such as external morphology, DNA and call patterns.
The study also resolved the confusion of a century century taxonomic about the identity of other cascade frog species, Amolops Monticola, which was explained by Sikkim Himalaya 150 years ago.
The discovery has an important implication in taxonomy and geographical distribution of several other members of this group found in India and Chinese neighboring areas.
These findings are published in scientific articles titled, “Phylogenetic positions from Montane Cascade Frog Amolops Monticola (Ranidae) and a description of the new species related to East India”, in the Journal of Natural History, London.
“This research is proof of how little is known about frogs, animal groups that are most threatened in northeast India,” said Professor S D Biju from the University of Delhi, the author of the appropriate article.
“Many frogs in this region are reported to occur widely, but, in fact, have a relatively small geographical range and require special attention to conservation before they become extinct forever.
Northeast India is a treasure of species that are still unknown to science.” Abhijit Das , From the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun said the new species was found when reviewing the old Adi Expedition of the Century in 2018.
“Named after the Adi tribe in Arunachal Pradesh where this species lived, especially during its position.
The rainy season,” said the watershed .