CHENNAI: The recent herpetofauna survey in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) buffer forests, now called MTR Masinagudi Division, has shed light on rich biodiversity, including several species that may be new to science.
Conducted from September 7 to 9, the survey spanned diverse habitats across altitudes, ranging from 300 to 2,000 metres above mean sea level, leading to the identification of 33 reptile and 36 amphibian species, many of which are endemic to the Western Ghats.
Significantly, the survey revealed four potentially new species, including two geckos (one from the Cnemaspis genus and another from Hemidactylus), a skink, and a frog from the genus Sphaerotheca. For these species to be formally described, traditional taxonomic work combined with molecular phylogenetic studies must be conducted.
Herpetologist Sujith V Gopalan, who did PhD on frogs of the Western Ghats, told TNIE, “We have found four candidate species that are new to science. A formal description of them will require further collection of specimens, taxonomic studies, and molecular phylogenetics. The collection requires permission from the Chief Wildlife Warden.”
Other remarkable findings include critically endangered species like Micrixalus spelunca (the cave dancing frog) and Nyctibatrachus indraneili (Indraneil’s Night Frog), along with several endemic and endangered species of frogs, skinks, and snakes. Rare snake species such as the Striped Coral Snake (Calliophis nigrescens), King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah), and the Nilgiri Burrowing Snake (Plectrurus perrotetii) were recorded.
The survey, conducted with the guidance of field director D Venkatesh and led by Deputy Director Arun Kumar P, is the first extensive herpetofauna assessment in MTR. Arun Kumar told TNIE that some cliffs and gorge areas may throw up more discoveries. “These inaccessible areas will be surveyed during the forthcoming northeast monsoon.”
Sujith also expressed a similar opinion saying that some species in the dry areas (shrub jungles in the rain shadow areas) become active during the retrieving monsoon. “To target them, we need to carry out a survey in late October-November during the northeast monsoon, especially the burrowing species of frogs like the Uperdon and Sphaerotheca,” he said.
Among the species recorded 16 species are classified by IUCN as threatened and three as near threatened.