Delhi University researcher’s team identifies three new Cascade Frog species

Three Cascade Frog species found in Tripura, Nagaland and West Bengal have been identified as new to science by a team led by Delhi University environmental studies professor SD Biju.

The findings follow 15 years of fieldwork in rocky hill streams and waterfalls across the seven northeastern states. Researchers studied more than 300 frog populations, using DNA analysis alongside comparisons of adult frogs and tadpoles to distinguish the new species.

The Tripura species, *Amolops ammachi*, was found in the Jampui Hills and named after the late Kerala social worker and philanthropist Padmini Varkey, known as Ammachi. *Amolops sendenyu* was discovered in Nagaland and takes its name from Sendenyu village. The West Bengal discovery, *Amolops bella*, was named for its patterned green appearance.

Cascade Frogs, from the genus *Amolops*, live around fast-flowing forest streams and rocky waterfalls. The study, published in the *Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology*, also recorded five species from India for the first time and traced the group’s evolutionary history across Asia.