Arunachal: New frog species discovered in Tale Wildlife Sanctuary

Scientists from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have identified a new species of frog in Arunachal Pradesh's Tale Wildlife Sanctuary. 

This discovery adds to India's herpetofaunal diversity, officials announced on Tuesday. The new species is a forest-dwelling horned frog, discovered by ZSI researchers from Shillong, Itanagar, and Pune. 

This finding, detailed in the current edition of the Zoological Survey of India, corrects an earlier report of the Maoson horned frog (Xenophrys maosonensis) in India, first described by ZSI scientists in Shillong in 2019, said Bhaskar Saikia, one of the lead scientists, during an interview with PTI. 

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Saikia explained that the reassessment of the species was prompted by analyses revealing genetic differences between the Indian specimen and X. maosonensis found in Vietnam and China. 

Saikia, along with Bikramjit Sinha from ZSI Shillong, KP Dinesh and A. Shabnam from ZSI Pune, and Ilona Jacinta Kharkongor from ZSI Itanagar, led the research team.

(With inputs from PTI)