Rare, golden-eyed creature discovered in India jungle is new species, study says

When researchers trekked through a tiger reserve in India, it wasn’t the big, striped cats that piqued their interest.

Instead, it was a handful of small toads hidden in rock crevices that grabbed their attention.

The amphibians, they learned, belonged to a never-before-documented species of rock toad, one that is likely critically endangered, according to a study published in September in the journal Biodiversitas.

Researchers discovered three specimens, two males and one female, taking refuge in streambed rock formations within the Dampa Tiger Reserve, a sprawling jungle reserve located in the far eastern Indian state of Mizoram.

After photographing the toads, researchers euthanized and deposited them at a herpetological collection for further analysis.

DNA extracted from the specimens revealed the creatures belonged to the genus Bufoides, a family of small toads endemic to India currently known to include only two species.

The newfound species was given the name bufoides bhupathyi in honor of noted herpetologist Subramanian Bhupathy.

The bhupathyi toads are distinguished by their black and yellow skin, golden irises and subtle differences in interdigital webbing and skin texture, according to researchers affiliated with various research institutions in India and the United Kingdom.

The toads, about an inch in length, are covered in black, medium-sized tubercles, or warts.

Because their range is likely restricted to the tiger reserve, the toads likely meet the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) standard for being labeled as critically endangered, researchers said.

Amphibian species currently make up 41% of the 42,000 animals on the IUCN’s list of threatened species.

This story was originally published October 9, 2023 at 1:22 PM with the headline "Rare, golden-eyed creature discovered in India jungle is new species, study says."