Microhyla Eos: A newly Discovered Species of Frog from Arunachal Pradesh

Scientists have reported the discovery of a new species of frog from the north-eastern State of Arunachal Pradesh, highlighting India’s amphibian diversity amid rising concerns over biodiversity loss.

Microhyla Eos

• Name: The new species is named eos, after the mythological Greek goddess of dawn, personifying its habitat in Arunachal Pradesh which is popularly known as the Land of the Rising Sun or the Land of Dawn-lit Mountains.
• Genus: It is described as the 50th member of the genus Microhyla, a group of narrow-mouthed frogs commonly known as Rice Frogs or Chorus Frogs, primarily and widely distributed in Asia.
• Native: A team of scientists from the University of Delhi and the Zoological Survey of India discovered the new species from riparian habitats in a primary evergreen forest in the Namdapha Tiger Reserve, which is the easternmost protected area in the country.
• Features: Microhyla Eos strikingly differs from other narrow-mouthed Chorus frogs by its size, shape, coloration and markings, foot webbing, and other morphological features. DNA analysis by the research team revealed that the closest relatives of Microhyla eos are in Southeast Asia rather than India.