Bengaluru: Who said new species are being discovered only in forests; meet the new species of burrowing frog discovered in Bengaluru.

In an effort to document amphibians in the Deccan Plateau parts of Karnataka, P. Deepak, Assistant Professor at Mount Carmel College and his team encountered a new species of frog of burrowing frog from the outskirts of Bengaluru.

The species was named Sphaerotheca Bengaluru, honouring the Silicon City and the new species has been described based on morphological and genetic differences with known species of burrowing frogs across South Asia. The research findings of the study have been published in international journal Zootaxa.

At present, the new species is reported from the peri-urban zones of Bengaluru which is dominated by agro-eco-systems mixed with dry deciduous vegetation without permanent water resources. 

However, more detailed field studies are needed to understand its distribution and natural history.

The new species highlight the lacunae in documentation of amphibians from the non-forested areas and the need to restore the habitats of frogs in Bengaluru.

Dr. Dinesh said, “there is an urgent need to document the amphibians of urban as well as agro ecosystems to avoid nameless extinction as already there is an alarming rate of population decline globally”.

The team comprised P. Deepak, Assistant Professor at Mount Carmel College, who is pursuing his doctoral degree from University of Mysore, Dr. K.P. Dinesh, Scientist D, Zoological Survey of India at Pune, Dr. Annemarie Ohler from The Institute of Systematic, Evolution, Biodiversity, National Museum of Natural History at France, Dr. Kartik Shanker from Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science at Bengaluru; Dr. B.H Channakeshavamurthy from Zoological Survey of India, Calicut and J.S. Ashadevi, Associate Professor, Yuvaraaja’s                   College, Mysuru.