Researchers discover new frog species from western coastal plains

‘Euphlyctis Jaladhara’ termed as link between vertebrate life in water and land

Researchers have discovered yet another new frog species from the freshwater bodies of the western coastal plains of India.  The discovery has been made in a collaborative effort by scientists of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Mount Carmel College (MCC), Bengaluru, and the National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar. ZSI scientist K. P. Dinesh said the frog had been scientifically named Euphlyctis Jaladhara with a common name “Jaladhara skittering frog”, suggestive of the frog’s habitat - a small body of water or reservoir.  Initially, it was first spotted in fresh water bodies around the Thattekad Bird Sanctuary in Ernakulam, and then multiple populations were identified all along the western coastal plains from Kerala to Gujarat.  He said that the amphibians were the “living link between the vertebrate life in water and land” and the new species was predominantly a freshwater frog. They were the first vertebrate organisms to get affected due to water pollution due to their primitive body plan.  Although most of the amphibians discovered in the country were reported from forested areas, they were well protected in terms of species conservation. “But for the new species like ‘Jaladhara skittering frog’ special conservation plans need to be focused as their distribution is flanked between the salt waters of Arabian Sea and the foothills of the Western Ghats,” he said.  Incidentally, this is the second new species of skittering frog detected from the locality. The earlier species, the Kerala pond frog (Phrynoderma Kerala), was also discovered in the same region by the same group of researchers in 2021. In the recent past, this is the first time that a wide range of new species of frog species has been discovered with its confirmed range in at least five States. The new species looks similar to the common skittering frog (Euphlyctis cyanophlyctis), which is predominantly distributed in the eastern coastal plains, Deccan Plateau and Western Ghats. This species was discovered 220 years ago. Members of the aquatic frog genus ‘Euphlyctis’ are important bioindicators for freshwater systems, and thus, this discovery strengthens the need to protect freshwater habitats around the country.  The research finding has been published in the international journal Zootaxa, published from New Zealand. The discovery was part of the Zoological Survey of India’s (WGRC, Kozhikode) faunal exploratory and documentation programme in the Thattekad Bird Sanctuary.