New-to-science ‘urban' frog named after Shillong
GUWAHATI Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya named after a deity of the indigenous Khasi community, has leant its name to a new-to-science 'urban' frog.
Scientists from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and their local collaborators have recorded a new species of cryptic, cascade-dwelling frog from the heart of Shillong at an average altitude of 4,990 ft.
Their find, blurring the line between wilderness and cityscape, has been named Amolops shillong, or the Shillong cascade frog.
They study by a team of six researchers, involving three specimens collected from the city between 2022 and 2023, has been detailed in the latest issue of Records of the ZSI.
The authors of the study are the ZSI's Shillong-based Bhaskar Saikia and Bikramjit Sinha, and Pune-based A. Shabnam, Eugene Lyngkhoi of the North Eastern Hill University's Department of Zoology, Damepaia S.M. Pdah of Assam University's Department of Earth Science, and K.P. Dinesh of Meghalaya's Directorate of Mineral Resources.
'The discovery of Amolops shillong from within Shillong's urban landscape underscores the urgent need to integrate biodiversity conservation into city planning,' ZSI Director Dhriti Banerjee said.
'It is a striking reminder that cities are not ecological voids but can be living repositories of unique and sensitive species. Protecting microhabitats in urban forests, streams, and green corridors is essential not just for amphibians like Amolops shillong but for the overall health of our ecosystems,' she said.
City species go unnoticed
The Amolops frogs require molecular analysis for accurate identification, as their cryptic nature makes them visually similar but genetically distinct. The researchers used advanced genetic tools to confirm that the Shillong cascade frog belongs to the Amolops indoburmanensis species complex.
Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Amolops siju, a species described by the same ZSI team in 2023 from the Siju Cave in Meghalaya's South Garo Hills district, is the Shillong cascade frog's closest relative, with a genetic divergence of 2-3.4%.
The Amolops shillong exhibits distinctive morphological features, including differences in size, skin texture, and body proportions. While Mr Pdah collected two specimens from the Umthlong locality of Shillong's Mawlai area, Mr Lyngkhoi collected the third from the Umrynjah locality.
'We were quite surprised to find an unnamed cryptic species thriving in Shillong's urban sprawl. It's a powerful reminder of how much biodiversity remains undocumented—even in our cities,' Mr Saikia, the lead author of the study, said.
He added that the urban amphibians have often gone unnoticed since the Amolops species began to be recorded in India in the 1850s.
India currently has 20 recognised species of Amolops frogs, 16 of which have been described from within the country. Nine of these have been recorded in the past two decades, emphasising the status of India's northeastern region as a hotspot of amphibian diversity.
According to Mr Sinha, the co-author of the study, cascade frogs are indicators of clean, undisturbed freshwater ecosystems. Their presence in Shillong's fragmented urban forest patches suggests the existence of vital microhabitats that merit immediate conservation attention.
'This discovery challenges us to rethink the value of urban ecosystems. The amphibian find from Shillong is not just a scientific achievement, it is an ecological wake-up call,' he said.
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