New Family of Frogs Discovered in South India

There's good news for all those animal lovers fond of frogs. A new family has just been discovered in South India. Biju and Bossuyt at the Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute, Trivandrum, India have reported the discovery of a new species of frog. The frog appears to be different and distinct from all the other known species of frogs.

Till date almost all known frogs i.e. 96% of more than 4,800 living frog species are classified as belonging to the Neobatrachia family or advanced family of frogs. The researchers who have examined the genetic makeup of the frog report that the species is related to the family - Sooglossidae - a frog family that lived only on two granitic islands of the Seychelles archipelago. It appears that only 4 specis of this family survive in Seychelles today .

Due to it's very distinct appearance, the investigators have classified the frog as belonging to a new family.

Reference
Nature. 2003 Oct 16;425(6959):711-4. New frog family from India reveals an ancient biogeographical link with the Seychelles.Biju SD, Bossuyt F.Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute, Palode, Thiruvananthapuram, 695562 Kerala, India.