A new species of music frog has been found in the dense landscapes of Arunachal Pradesh, in north eastern India.
The research - a collaboration between Indian biologists and researchers from England's University of Wolverhampton - was funded by a National Geographic Explorer Grant and resulted in this remarkable discovery, close to the Namdapha Tiger Reserve.
The newfound species has been christened the Noa-Dihing music frog (Nidirana noadihing) because it was found near the Noa-Dihing River. “This newly discovered frog grows up to six centimeters and is characterized by a pale cream-colored line on the mid-body, and with a unique call pattern consisting of two-three notes,” said Dr. Deepak Veerappan, of the University of Wolverhampton.
“Initially we first heard the call from a marsh near the Noa-Dihing river, which is quite similar to wild duck species, like ‘quack… quack… quack,’ which we never heard before.”
The breeding, egg-laying, and parental care habits of this newly discovered marsh-adapted frog species remain a mystery, providing researchers with an intriguing avenue for future studies.
This discovery of the new music frog species in one of Northeast India's largest protected areas suggests that more populations of the Noa-Dihing music frog may be uncovered through extended research.
The findings of the team have been published in international peer-reviewed journals based in Germany, London, and New Zealand.