New Delhi: A tiny frog with an unusual appetite for snails — shells and all — is among five new species discovered in Arunachal Pradesh, revealing a hidden world of biodiversity in eastern Himalayas.The discovery by scientists from Delhi University and Harvard University has increased the number of diminutive horned frog species known from India sevenfold, challenging earlier assumptions about the region’s evolutionary significance.The findings, published in Royal Society Open Science, are the result of five years of extensive field explorations across Northeast India. Besides identifying five previously unknown species belonging to the genus Jingophrys, researchers documented two species never before recorded in India and several other potentially new species awaiting formal identification.Among the discoveries, the snail-eating horned frog (Jingophrys tanogogo) stands out for its extraordinary diet. Using advanced 3D micro-CT imaging, scientists found entire land snail shells inside its gut. It is the first documented snail-eating frog from India and the first recorded instance of snail-eating in the Megophryidae family.The discoveries also celebrate Arunachal’s indigenous communities. The Tanii horned frog (Jingophrys taniitatii) honours the Tanii tribe of Ziro Valley, combining the community’s name with Apatani word ‘tatii’, meaning frogs and toads. The name ‘tanogogo’, meaning snails, also comes from Apatani language.The Siang horned frog (Jingophrys siangensis) is named after the region where it was discovered, while Jingophrys hrdy and Jingophrys wularsoni honour supporters of herpetological research at Harvard.The study, led by Dr Sonali Garg, who conducted the research as a biodiversity postdoctoral fellow at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology, also involved DU senior professor and co-author SD Biju, doctoral researchers Tage Tajo and Radhakrishna Upadhyaya K from the university’s environmental studies department, and James Hanken, research professor of biology and professor emeritus at Harvard University.Researchers identified the species through DNA analysis, physical characteristics and distinctive mating calls. Their evolutionary analysis suggests the diversification of horned frogs coincided with the rise of Himalayan mountains and intensification of Asian monsoon over millions of years.“Our study illustrates how species diversification and underlying evolutionary processes can go overlooked in poorly known organismic groups in the absence of dedicated scientific studies. It reinforces the importance of primary field-based research combined with advanced laboratory tools as a critical step for documenting the remarkable biodiversity in understudied regions of tropical Asia,” said Garg.The findings challenge the conventional understanding of Northeast India primarily as a passage for wildlife movement between Indian subcontinent and mainland Asia, establishing it as an important centre of evolutionary diversification.“Arunachal Pradesh is a truly understudied region of India, hiding rich and endemic frog fauna. Some of the new species are extremely secretive and found in remote forests only during a short breeding season,” said Biju, emphasising the need for further research and conservation.
