Four New Species of Horned Frogs Discovered in Northeast

Guwahati, November 21, 2018:

As a remarkable discovery of Stephen Mahogany, four new species of horned frogs have been found in the Himalayan regions of Northeast India.

Horned frogs are named so because of the fleshy horn-like projection on the upper eyelids.

Stephen took this research as a part of PhD studies under Professor SD Biju from Delhi University (DU) Department of Environmental Studies. He is also known as the ‘Frogman of India’.

Going through the research, the four Indian frog species are named as Himalayan horned frog (Megophryshimalayana); the Garo white-lipped horned frog (Megophrysoreocrypta); the Yellow spotted white-lipped horned frog (Megophrysflavipunctata); and the Giant Himalayan horned frog (Megophrysperiosa).

The research paper was published as a monograph in the scientific journal Zootaxa on Monday.

According to Biju, Northeast is rich in amphibian species and the discovery of the four new frog species specifies the diversity fauna in the region.

He added, despite being part of two globally recognized biodiversity hotspots (Himalayas and Indo-Burma), Northeast has been neglected as compared to the Western Ghats hotspot in southern India.