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| Amolops kamal Saikia, Sinha, Shabnam, Konwar, Borthakur & Dinesh, 2026 Nagaland Cascade Frog || https://recordsofzsi.com/index.php/zsoi |
Abstract
The Asian cascade-dwelling frog genus Amolops currently comprises 90 recognised species, with 20 species reported from India. These species are generally classified into ten species groups based on morphological similarities, of which in India, Amolops species are mainly categorised across three groups: A. marmoratus group, A. monticola group and A. viridimaculatus group, with the first group being the most diverse, represented by eight species. Previous studies on the A. indoburmanensis species group and A. marmoratus species group suggest a species complex encompassing multiple cryptic lineages. Between 2022 and 2024, many Amolops specimens tentatively assigned to A. indoburmanensis sensu lato were collected from different parts of North-East India. Morphological variations and molecular phylogenetic analyses revealed multiple distinct lineages within this complex, confirming the paraphyly of the nomen A. indoburmanensis. Herein, we describe a new Amolops species belonging to the A. indoburmanensis species complex from North-East India, Amolops kamal sp. nov. from Nagaland state. The study underscores the rich hidden diversity within the Amolops genus and highlights the importance of integrated morphological and molecular approaches in resolving amphibian taxonomy in the region.
Keywords: Amolops indoburmanensis, Amolops kamal sp. nov., paraphyly, Jotsoma, Kohima
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| Amolops kamal sp. nov. in live condition. |
Amolops kamal sp. nov.
Nagaland Cascade Frog
Bhaskar Saikia, Bikramjit Sinha, A. Shabnam, Prabir Narayan Konwar, Mridul Kumar Borthakur and K. P. Dinesh. 2026. Description of A New cascade frog of the Genus Amolops Cope (1865) (Anura: Ranidae) from Nagaland, North-East India. Records of the Zoological Survey of India. 126(2); 131-140. DOI: 10.26515/rzsi/v126/i2/2026/173119