It was reported in November 2020 that a newly discovered species of burrowing frog has been named Sphaerotheca Bengaluru. The new species of the frog has been named after Bengaluru city to show that there exists a wide gap in documentation of amphibians from non-forested areas and to emphasise the need to reclaim the species habitats like fresh water bodies in the city. The discovery of the frog was made in 2018 by an amateur herpetolosit, Deepak P, who is an assistant professor at Mount Carmel College. The images of the species were sent to the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) for confirmation and after an independent phylogentic study ZSI confirmed the finding.
The finding is a part of efforts to document ‘Amphibians in the Deccan Plateau parts of Karnataka’. Several researchers from various Indian institutes and one from France participated in the research, which was published in the international journal Zootaxa.
Significance of the Finding
As per the researchers, in recent times, there has been a rise in amphibian discoveries in India with most findings concentrated on the biodiversity hotspots or forested lands.
The discovery highlights the importance of non-forested landscapes by driving home the point that species of frogs can be found outside the forests and even in highly populous cities like Bengaluru. Researchers are attempting to understand the patterns of discoveries of new species in the country and to find out the new species present in the cities undergoing swift urbanisation.