Researchers have found tiny, unexpected treasures in southern India that they fear may soon be extinct--14 new species of dancing frogs that are about the size of a walnut.
Publishing their findings Thursday in the Ceylon Journal of Science, the research group says these unique species have been dramatically declining in population during the last 12 years, possibly due to a drying habitat, The Associated Press reported.
The newly identified frogs bring the total of dancing amphibians in India to 24 species, but the find is bittersweet.
"It's like a Hollywood movie, both joyful and sad. On the one hand, we have brought these beautiful frogs into public knowledge. But about 80 percent are outside protected areas, and in some places, it was as if nature itself was crying," said the project's lead scientist, University of Delhi professor Sathyabhama Das Biju, as quoted by the AP.
The walnut-sized creatures are named because of the way males work to attract females, stretching and whipping their legs to the side to get their attention. Known as foot-flagging, this behavior is especially vital since males vastly outnumber females at a ratio of around 100 to one.
"They need to perform and prove, 'Hey, I'm the best man for you,'" Biju told the AP.
The Indian biologists have gathered some anecdotal evidence that the frogs' habitat in the mountains of southern India may be declining; they cite dried-up soil and streams as possible reasons for the tiny amphibians' shrinking populations.
"Compared with other frogs, these are so sensitive to this habitat that any change might be devastating for them," Biju said. "Back in 2006, we saw maybe 400 to 500 hopping around during the egg-laying season. But each year there were less, and in the end even if you worked very hard it was difficult to catch even 100."
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