Chanakya Found in Himalayas

Scientists explorers have found Chanakya in the remote Eastern Himalayas. But he is not the ancient polymath of Taxila also known as Kauţilya, author of famous Arthashastra. It is only a frog but not an ordinary one. The elusive amphibian has neon spots on its body recently discovered but named so.

The heavily forested mountains of the Eastern    Himalayas are a hotspot for biodiversity. Scientists have found a new genus of frogs living in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya at different times. Some of them were thought to be extinct while others are totally new. But this time scientists have discovered three new types of frogs in the Himalayas, one of the species having a neon light! And it has been named after Chanakya!

Bikramjit Sinha and a team of scientists set out after dusk to survey an area of Arunachal Pradesh, according to a study published by the Zoological Survey of India this month. Along a small hill stream, a small creature caught their attention. The team first found a “dull brick-red” frog - and discovered a new species, the study said. The frog, named Amolops Chanakya or Chanakya’s cascade frog, had “irregular cocoa-brown spots” and “neon yellow” spots across its body. The animal also appears to have bright blue eyes. DNA testing revealed the frog was a cascade dwelling frog but “genetically distinct” from other subspecies, the researchers reported. Its two-lobed tongue, rounded snout and externally visible vocal sac also distinguished it from other frogs.

Exploring another  area of Arunachal  Pradesh, the researchers spotted another lone frog “resting under a boulder in a shallow trickle of water,” the study said. The team identified the frog as another “genetically distinct” cascade dwelling frog. Named the Amolops Tawang or the Tawang cascade frog, the amphibian had an olive-green colouring with unusually shaped brown blotches and lighter green spots, the study said. The animal’s small and “distinct” eardrums, colouring and head shape set it apart from  other  similar frog species, according to the study.

One more amphibian survey in Arunachal Pradesh discovered a third new species of cascade dwelling frogs. It is named Amolops Terraorchis, spotted after dusk along the large boulders of two different streams. The Terraorchis cascade frog had a dark brown colouring with a “marbled” mustard green pattern, researchers said. In addition to being genetically    distinct, the frog’s colouring, completely  webbed toes and  head  shape set it apart. Sighting of Amolops terraorchis in the field. Researchers noted that the frogs were well-adapted to high elevations and found in three different, geographically isolated areas.

Many  such  rare frog species were earlier discovered by Dr Sathyabhama Das Biju from Delhi University. Biju is also known as ‘the frog man of India’ because he is credited with discovering and identifying 89 out of the 388 frog species found in the country during more than 25 years of his work.