A team of researchers from Karnataka has discovered a new species of frogs found in the West Coast of India. The new species of microhylid frogs has been named Microhyla kodia, christened after the city of Mangaluru, called kodial in the Konkani language. It is the tenth species of Microhyla from India.
It was first spotted in Mangaluru when the researchers were carrying out field surveys as part of a larger study on community ecology of anurans (frogs and toads) in the urban landscape. The species is distinct from all described species belonging to the genus Microhyla found in South and Southeast Asia.
"The narrow-mouthed frog, is characterized by absence of lateral body stripe, tuberculated dorsal skin surface, absence of webbing between fingers, presence of basal webbing between toes and absence of dorsal marginal groove on finger and toe disc," the researchers said in a statement.
The breeding season is short for this species and is limited to the rainy season, i.e. June to September, and the females lay up to 300 eggs per clutch.
The Microhyla kodia was found exclusively in an urban industrial area that is surrounded by seaport, petrochemical, chemical and refinery industries. According to researchers, this species are likely to be tolerant and adapted to such disturbances.
The area where the frogs were spotted used to be a timber depot imported from Southeast Asia, and the researchers suggests that the frogs could have been accidentally introduced with timber that came from Malaysia, Indonesia and Myanmar.
The team of researchers include Kumar K Vineeth, Department of Applied Zoology, Mangalore University, Mangalagangothri, Konaje, U. K. Radhakrishna, Department of Applied Zoology, Mangalore University, Mangalagangothri, Konaje, R.D. Godwin, St. Aloysius Pre University College, Mangalore, Anwesha Saha, Suri Sehgal Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), K Patil Rajashekhar, Department of Applied Zoology, Mangalore University, Mangalagangothri, Konaje, and N. A. Aravinda, Suri Sehgal Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE).
The discovery has been published in the latest issue of International Taxonomic Journal Zootaxa.