14 New Species of Dancing Frogs Discovered in India
Posted on May 9, 2014
Scientists from the University of Delhi have discovered 14 new species of dancing frogs. The lead scientist of the research is University of Delhi professor Sathyabhama Das Biju. The frogs, which belong to the Micrixalidae family, were found in remote areas of the mountains of Western Ghats in southern India.
The name "dancing frogs" comes from the unique foot-flagging behavior the male frogs make. The males use the behavior to try and draw the attention of females. Take a look:
The new discovery brings the total number of known dancing frog species to 24. The scientists fear the frogs are likely endangered and some species could go extinct.
Biju told The Guardian, "Compared with other frogs, these are so sensitive to this habitat that any change might be devastating for them," Biju said. "Back in 2006, we saw maybe 400 to 500 hopping around during the egg-laying season. But each year there were less, and in the end even if you worked very hard it was difficult to catch even 100."
The research was published here in the Ceylon Journal of Science.