Kalinga Frog | UPSC
HEADLINES:
Kalinga frog in Western Ghats shows physical differences from Eastern Ghats counterpart
WHY IN NEWS:
Scientists claim the morphological phenotypic plasticity found in the Kalinga cricket frog is first such in India
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3: Conservation of Biodiversity : Flora and Fauna
LEARNING:
For PRELIMS MPP feature is very important ! Go through it with a pen , paper and your Prelims book.
For MAINS nothing much here .
ISSUE:
KALINGA FROG
‘LARGEST SPECIES’
- The Kalinga cricket frog is one of the largest of its group and grows up to 6.5 cm,whereas the other has an average size of 2 cm.
- Kalinga frog is a semi-aquatic frog that actively breeds in the monsoon.
Photo Source : DownToEarth : The Kalinga frog of the Eastern Ghats.
- MPP is the ability of an organism to show drastic morphological (physical features) variations in response to natural environmental variations or stimuli.
- The frog species was identified not long ago. Its documentation was done in 2018 and reported from the Eastern Ghats.
HABITAT
- It was thought to be endemic to the hill ranges of the Eastern Ghats.
- It also indicated the frog species being endemic to the Eastern Ghats.
- The frog from the Eastern Ghats is phenotypically different when compared with the population in Eastern Ghats.
DNA ANALYSIS
- Frogs are known to exhibit varied reproductive behaviours by adopting different modes and strategies for successful survival.
- It was only genetic analysis that helped prove that physically different-looking frogs were the same.
GEOGRAPHICAL ZONES
- The Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats are the two different biogeographic zones, with unique histories.
- While the Western Ghats are considered as a biodiversity hotspot, eastern its counterpart is not.
- Both landscapes have unique ecosystems, with special microclimates and microhabitats .
MORPHOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES
- Any classical taxonomist would consider these two populations as two different species on the basis of morphological characters alone ! -Researchers .
- Colour variations across the different populations of the same species were quite common.
- The number and size of the fingers vary from two to four, which are comparatively larger.
- The toe sizes were observed to be smaller in the frog species found in the Western Ghats.
IASbhai WINDUP:
NEED FOR A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING
- The scientists said the recent findings were certainly not a habitat expansion and there was more information waiting to be found.
- The next questions to ask are how this little genetic divergence is leading to such contrasting morphological adaptations in these species.
SOURCES:DownToEarth | Kalinga Frog | UPSC
DISCOVER MORE : DownToEarth Issues
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