Science welcomed several new species in 2024

Among the many biodiversity-rich regions of India, Northeast India and the Western Ghats stand out as hotspots harboring many endemic species. It is therefore not surprising that many recently discovered species new to science are present in these regions. Mongabay India has constantly informed our readers about these fascinating discoveries.

Also in 2024, several species have been newly described, mostly reptiles, amphibians or insects. Here are some of the species that have sparked our curiosity and potentially redefined the course of science.

Not one, but four

It was long believed that the king cobra belonged to a single species. Ophiophagus Hannah. The world’s longest venomous snake is not considered of great conservation importance and is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Taxa. It’s about to change as a global study led by scientist P. Gowri Shankar, based in the Western Ghats, has challenged the belief that the King Cobra is not one species, but four distinct species separated by geographical areas. Of the four, two species are critically endangered, including the Western Ghats species, now named Ophiophagus kaalinga.

This study is important for many reasons: the more than century-old confusion surrounding the taxonomy of the king cobra is finally closed. It could also propel antivenom research further.

Commenting on these findings, renowned wildlife biologist Romulus Whitaker told Mongabay India: “I always suspected that these were multiple species because they look and behave very differently from each other.” Gowri Shankar points out that although the study clearly distinguished the four species, there may still be other species to be described. “King cobras could potentially number five or six species. Further research is needed,” he says.

A new advance for science

It’s easy to confuse one species with another, especially when the species in question is as common as a lizard. Amphibian researcher Sandeep Das almost missed the identification a new species because he looked a lot like the famous Agasthyagama bedomiior northern kangaroo lizard. However, after consulting other experts, he realized that the location of the sighting – a hilly district of Idukki, Kerala – was too far from the typical sighting range. A. bedomii. Further studies confirmed this finding, leading to the discovery of a previously unknown species.

Appointed Edge of Agasthyagamathe authors describe the species as “superficially similar to Agasthyagama beddomii in general shape, size and color, but can be distinguished by a combination of characters. Distinct morphological characters include the number of scales in the throat region, which was found to be less in On board compared to A. beddomii. The color of the scales in the throat region of breeding males was also found to be different. The two species also differed genetically. On board join now A. beddomii as another species of kangaroo lizard in India.

Northeast Species

The northeastern regions of India, as diverse in animal and plant species as the Western Ghats, are relatively less studied, mainly due to the predominantly hostile terrain and political turbulence that the region has witnessed historically. Despite these challenges, many researchers have managed to conduct in-depth studies of the region’s species. For Mongabay India, the year 2024 began with the news of three new species of frogs — Gracixalus patkaiensis, Alcalus fontinalis, And Nidirana noadihing – discovered in the Kamlang-Namdapha landscape biodiversity hotspot in Arunachal Pradesh.

Nestled between Myanmar and India, Namdapha is considered the northernmost edge of the world’s tropical rainforest. The Namdapha region, located on the border, is faced with numerous anthropogenic pressures which pose conservation problems. Another reason why these discoveries are special is that these are not just three new species but three new genera – a taxonomic category comprising species with similar characteristics – recorded from India. Lead researcher Abhijit Das of the Wildlife Institute of India described the new frogs as rare, with distinct appearances and calls.

Call of the wild

In another fascinating discoveryfield entomologist Vivek Sarkar and his assistant Tushar Sangma identified a new species of cicada during an acoustic survey in Balpakram National Park, located in the southern Garo Hills, Meghalaya, in 2017. While Sarkar observed the cicada with binoculars and a laser rangefinder, the insect fell. on the ground when a bat tried to capture it. Sarkar quickly photographed the cicada, which made it possible to identify Two-tone becquartinathe bicolor butterfly cicada.

Unaware of this discovery, in 2020, Rodeson Thangkhiew – then a PhD student and now an assistant professor of zoology at the Meghalaya University of Science and Technology – was attracted by a unique cicada song coming from a tree next to a small stream . Thangkhiew was looking for edible wild plants in a community forest in Ri Bhoi district, about 150 kilometers from South Garo Hills. His observations would later align with Sarkar’s findings.

The two teams published their research in March 2024 in Zootaxa. Sarkar pointed out that people in South Garo Hills and Ri Bhoi were already familiar with the bicolor butterfly cicada, emphasizing the importance of integrating traditional ecological knowledge of local communities into scientific research.

Most recently, while discussing the importance of dung beetles in maintaining environmental health, we also informed readers the discovery of new species of dung beetles, two of which come from northeast India. One of the important lessons from these new discoveries is the extent of biodiversity the country possesses. These new discoveries have considerable impacts on conservation science: each new discovery is a step closer to our understanding of biodiversity, its conservation and its management.

Banner image: A Gracixalus patkaiensis with eggs listen to the males calling. Image by Abhijit Das.