Pune: A new frog species has been discovered in the biodiversity-rich Western Ghats, by scientists of the city-based MES Abasaheb Garware College and the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER). The frog has been christened as ‘Raorchestes ghatei’, after city-based scientist H V Ghate, in recognition of his contributions to the herpetology of the Western Ghats of Maharashtra and as an inspiration to all researchers. It will assume the common name, ‘Ghate’s Shrub Frog’. Scientists who undertook the research said ‘Raorchestes ghatei’ is genetically different from all known species of Raorchestes frogs, which makes the discovery all the more significant. The new species differs from its counterparts based on a combination of characters, the main character being a boney enlargement on the upper arm bone, which is present only in the male of the species discovered, said researchers. “Research further showed that the new species is genetically distinct and forms a distinct branch within the genus ‘Raorchestes’. The new species exhibits sexual differences between males and females and shows direct development,” said IISER Inspire Faculty Fellow Neelesh Dahanukar, adding that the species is widely distributed in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra. Another researcher involved in the discovery from Abasaheb Garware College, Anand D Padhye, said, “The Western Ghats have a rich diversity of amphibians with a great degree of endemism. With recent descriptions of several new species and genera of amphibians from here, it is clear that several amphibian species from the place are not yet formally described and detailed surveys and studies are thus essential.” Currently, 49 species are recognized under Raorchestes, while the genus is distributed not only in the Western Ghats, but also in southern China, Laos and Vietnam. “Researchers had described ‘Raorchestes bombayensis’ from Castle Rock in Karnataka in 1919 and had mentioned that the species was also present in Kas in Satara and Khandala in Pune district. Our research, based on morphological and molecular analysis, however found that the population of the Raorchestes from Satara and Pune districts, earlier reported as R bombayensis, are actually those of the new species, Ghate’s Shrub Frog,” added Dahanukar. Researchers said though no specific threats to the species could be identified, continuous deforestation in these areas leading to habitat fragmentation could be a threat. “Several localities from which the species is currently known are also subject to tourism and recreational activities. There is a large wind farm near the type locality at Chalkewadi, while other localities are also potential wind farm sites. Recently, Dahanukar and others had reported the presence of chytrid fungal infection in R bombayensis from Taleghar. It can thus be suggested that Ghate’s Shrub Frog is prone to this infection,” said Padhye. Researcher Amit Sayyed from the Wildlife Protection and Research Society in Satara and Anushree Jadhav from Garware College were also part of the research findings.