A group of Delhi University (DU) researchers has, on August 02, 2021, named a new species of frogs after former DU vice-chancellor Deepak Pental to honour his work as a renowned plant geneticist. Pental is a noted researcher whose primary area of interest is crop breeding, who has also helped establish the Systematics Labs at DU where research leading to the discovery and description of nearly one-fourth of all known Indian amphibians has been carried out. This species had been discovered by Professor S.D. Biju, Head, Department of Environmental Studies at DU, and a post-doctoral researcher at DU Sonali Garg from the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot. A decade-long comprehensive study was conducted on a large group of Minervaryan frogs to establish the identity and taxonomic status of the genus. The frog has been named Minervarya pentali, and belongs to the family Dicroglossidae.
About the Fog Minervarya pentali is small-sized (length 45 mm) frog. It has blunt snout, distinct tympanum, more than half diameter of eye, strong supra-tympanic fold from eye to shoulder, and large ridges on the back with large inner metatarsal tubercles. It has black and red markings with lips and limbs cross-banded. Its habitat is semi-aquatic. According to experts, this new species is only found in the southern region.
Apart from DU, the Department of Science and Technology of the Government of India, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research of the Government of India, the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund of the United States, and Global Wildlife Conservation of the United States also took part in the work.
The findings are published in an international journal, viz., Asian Herpetological Research, under the head, DNA Barcoding and Systematic Review of Minervaryan Frogs (Dicroglossidae: Minervarya) of Peninsular India: Resolution of a Taxonomic Conundrum with a Description of a New Species.
As per the lead researcher of the study, the frog was discovered from wayside vegetation into multiple localities in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, while surveying amphibians during the monsoon season. This species is also among the smallest known Minervaryan frogs. It was identified on the basis of multiple criteria including “external morphology, DNA, and calling pattern”. The study has also resolved the identity and taxonomic status of all known members of the genus from Peninsular India and clarified the geographical ranges of species and provide numerous new distribution records on the basis of morphologically and genetically identified samples from a vast region.
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