Never-before-seen Kali night frog species discovered in Western Ghats

Key points

• Scientists have discovered a new species of night frog deep within the rainforests of Karnataka’s central Western Ghats, adding to the region’s extraordinary biodiversity and highlighting how much of India’s ecological wealth still remains undocumented.
• The newly identified species, named Nyctibatrachus kali, commonly called the Kali night frog, was discovered in the Kali river basin in Uttara Kannada district.
• Researchers confirmed it as a distinct species using a combination of morphology, genetics, and bioacoustics, making it a separate evolutionary lineage from other known night frogs.
• Read Full Story The discovery once again underlines the ecological significance of the Western Ghats, one of the world’s most important biodiversity hotspots.
• The mountain chain is home to at least 253 known amphibian species, nearly 94% of which are found nowhere else on Earth.