Scientists have discovered the new genus of tree frogs in India thought to have been extinct for over a century.
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It is hoped the frogs might now be found across a wide area, from China to Thailand. To analyse the phylogenetic relationship of these new frogs, the authors compared molecular data with known tree frog genera.
He believes the frogs were so hard to locate as they live in tree holes at heights up to 6 meters (20 feet) above ground.
Some experts have pointed out the fact that there were not many scientists working in the remote regions where the tree frog existed in the first place.
The team made the discovery after doing fieldwork in four northeastern Indian states that lead to the observation of several populations of tree frogs with many unusual characteristics, one of the most surprising being tadpoles that eat their mother’s eggs. Uniquely, they feed mostly on vegetation, rather than insects and larvae. Researchers named this genus of Old World tree frogs, Frankixalus.
Amphibian biologist and scientist SD Biju holds a preserved female frog named Frankixalus jerdonii at Systematics Lab of the University of Delhi.
“We heard a full musical orchestra coming from the tree tops”.
“It was magical. Of course we had to investigate”.
Although the frogs have since been found in significant numbers, they are far from safe, Mr Biju warned, with tropical forests being cut down at alarming rates to make way for agriculture and human settlements.
But Biju – who earned his nickname “The Frog Man of India” for discovering 89 of the country’s 350 or so frog species – warns that Franky’s tree frog may already be in danger.
A curious tree frog that breeds in the hollows of trees and feeds its young its own unfertilized eggs was rediscovered in Southeast Asia-nearly 150 years later. In addition to deforestation, the frogs are also endangered by increasing pollution levels in the area.
Biju suggests that the positioning of their eyes on the top of their heads also helps them see the eggs fed to them by their mothers.
“We’re lucky in a way to have found it before that happens, but we’re all anxious”.
The tadpole of the newly-renamed species Frankixalus jerdonii.
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“Species discoveries and rediscoveries… can bring excitement and focus to animals like amphibians that, despite being the most threatened vertebrate group, are underrepresented in the media and scientific literature”, said herpetologist Robin Moore, co-founder of the Washington-based Amphibian Survival Alliance.
