New species of Cascade frog discovered from Arunachal Pradesh, named after Adi tribe

‘Northeast India is a treasure house of species still unknown to science’

Researchers have discovered a new species of cascade frog from Arunachal Pradesh and named it after the Adi hills, the abode of Adi tribes. Amolops adicola, the new species discovered by a team of Indian and American biologists from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), University of Delhi, India, and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science, the U.S., is a predominantly brown colour frog, with a size ranging roughly between 4 cm to 7 cm. Cascade frogs are named so because of their preference for small waterfalls or cascades in flowing hill streams, for which they have developed certain morphological features such as expanded digit tips and extensive foot webbing that makes them adapt to strong water currents. The discovery was made when biologists were investigating a group of medium- to large-sized Cascade frogs (scientifically belonging to genus Amolops) from northeast India over the last five years. “This study is once again testament to how little is known about the most threatened animal groups, frogs, in northeastern India. Many frogs in this region are reported to occur widely but, in fact, have relatively small geographical ranges and require special attention for conservation before they go extinct forever,” said S. D. Biju, University of Delhi, corresponding author of the study. “Northeast India is a treasure house of species still unknown to science.”