A genus of Old World tree frogs (Rhacophoridae) was rediscovered in India. This genus was thought to have extinct more than a century. The study regarding the rediscovery of genus of Old World tree frogs was published in the Public Library of Science journal (PLOS ONE) on January 20, 2016. Researchers named this genus of Old World tree frogs, Frankixalus.
This rediscovery was made by team headed by Professor S.D. Biju from University of Delhi during their fieldwork in four northeastern Indian states in 2015. This team collaborated with researchers from the Pune, Sri Lanka, Brussels and the American Museum of Natural History in order to study and analyse this genus. According to Professor S.D. Biju, this genus probably remained unnoticed until now because of its secretive life in high canopy tree holes.
Findings
The team of researchers named the this genus of Old World tree frog, Frankixalus, after a well known herpetologist Franky Bossuyt, who was Professor S.D. Biju’s adviser when he was a student at the Vrije Universiteit in Brussels. To analyse the phylogenetic relationship of these new frogs, the authors compared molecular data with known tree frog genera.
- Frankixalus is different from other tree frog genera in breeding, egg laying, and development
- It has gel-encapsulated eggs, breeds in water accumulated in tree holes, lays egg on walls of tree holes
- Tadpoles (of Frankixalus’ category) feed on their mother's eggs
- Tadpoles have smooth, suction-like mouths to pull in the eggs
- Their eyes are positioned on the top of their heads, rather than on the sides which may help the tadpoles see eggs being dropped by mother frogs into the hole during feeding time
The team also stated that this rediscovered genus of frog shows remarkable parental care behaviour with specific microhabitat requirements for their survival.
Frankixalus has been placed in the Polypedates’ jerdonii group described by Günther in 1876 which forms the sister group of a clade containing Kurixalus, Pseudophilautus, Raorchestes, Mercurana and Beddomixalus
Old World tree frog
Currently, the Old World tree frog family has over 380 species and includes some frogs with ambiguous classifications as they have some shared characteristics. These frogs were considered to be extinct. The last previously known specimens of this family were collected in 1870 by British naturalist T C Jerdon in the forests of Darjeeling.
Image Courtesy: Wikipedia
