Five new miniature frog species found in eastern Himalayas

Scientists have discovered five new species of tiny horned frogs in India's eastern Himalayas, more than doubling the number of known species in the group.

A team of scientists from University of Delhi and Harvard University made the discoveries after five years of fieldwork, identifying the frogs as members of the Jingophrys group.

Among them is Jingophrys tanogogo - or the snail-eating horned frog - the first frog known in India to feed on snails and the first member of its family recorded with such a diet.

The research suggest the Himalayas have played a much larger role in frog evolution than previously thought and highlight the region as an overlooked hotspot for biodiversity.

The Himalayas, stretching from tropical forests to alpine meadows, are among the world's richest biodiversity regions.

Despite drawing interest from scientists and researchers, many parts here have not been fully explored.

The state of Arunachal Pradesh particularly has emerged as one of its least-studied regions.

Dr Sonali Garg, who led the study at Harvard University's Museum of Comparative Zoology, said the research highlights how significant evolutionary changes can go unnoticed in little-studied species.

The study - called two-fold hidden diversity of diminutive horned frogs (Megophryinae: Jingophrys) - was conducted by Garg along with her colleague James Hanken and Delhi University's SD Biju, Tage Tajo and Radhakrishna Upadhyaya K.

It was published on 11 November in the Royal Society Open Science journal.

"Some of the new species are extremely secretive and found in remote forests only during a short breeding season," says Biju.

Researchers say further studies will have to done to better understand their biology and conservation needs.

DNA analysis showed the horned frogs rapidly diversified into multiple species in the eastern Himalayas as the mountain range rose and the Asian monsoon took shape over millions of years, helping drive the evolution of the region's plants and wildlife.

The researchers said in a statement that local tribes gave them essential field support and knowledge that helped make the discoveries possible. Some of the species were named after these communities.

The Tanii horned frog (Jingophrys taniitatii), for instance, is named by combining the name of the Tanii tribe in the region with the word 'tatti' - frog in the local Apatani language.

The new species have been named Jingophrys taniitatii (Tanii horned frog), Jingophrys tanogogo (snail-eating horned frog), Jingophrys siangensis (Siang horned frog), Jingophrys hrdy (Hrdy's horned frog) and Jingophrys wularsoni (Wu-Larson's horned frog).