From biting to body-raising: study finds Indian frogs exhibit rare defensive strategies to ward off predators

Scientists from the University of Delhi have, for the archetypal time, documented uncommon and contrasting anti-predator behaviours successful 2 frog taxon from India: 1 that shrieks and bites attackers, and different that abruptly elevates its assemblage to intimidate threats.

The findings, published successful the latest contented of the technological diary Herpetological Notes, were made by a squad from Delhi University’s Systematics Lab, led by herpetologist S.D. Biju. The survey reveals singular and antecedently unrecorded defence strategies among Indian amphibians.

The nocturnal apatani horned toad (Xenophrys apatani), endemic to Arunachal Pradesh, relies connected its cryptic, leaf-litter-like colouration to stay undetected during the day. When threatened oregon approached, it inflates its body, emits a piercing distress telephone and whitethorn adjacent wound the intruder. Such behaviour was archetypal noticed during tract photography and aboriginal confirmed experimentally utilizing a twig arsenic a simulated menace during an expedition successful the Tale Valley Wildlife Sanctuary.

In contrast, the bicoloured frog (Clinotarsus curtipes), a diurnal taxon from the Western Ghats successful Kerala, typically recovered connected the wood level among leafage litter, was observed to arch its assemblage upwards by vertically extending its limbs erstwhile disturbed. This posture, believed to marque it look larger and much intimidating, was documented successful the chaotic and subsequently tested utilizing a menace stimulus astatine Singappara successful Palakkad.

419 known species

The observations people the archetypal records of biting and body-raising arsenic antiaircraft strategies among India’s 419 known frog species.

The researchers observed that frogs worldwide grounds a wide array of antiaircraft mechanisms to trim predation risk, from avoiding detection done camouflage to counterattack erstwhile threatened. Of the 7,876 known frog taxon globally, astir 650 are reported to show specified behaviours. However, specified earthy past observations are seldom documented among Indian species.

“A assortment of defence behaviours are known successful frogs, but they are not arsenic often reported. These caller observations successful Indian frogs are conscionable an illustration of however overmuch remains either undocumented oregon wholly chartless astir the earthy past and behaviours of our autochthonal species,” Prof. Biju points out.