New tree frog genus discovered in forest of north-eastern India

Professor Sathyabhama Das Biju, popularly known as the frogman of India, and his team of researchers discovered a new genus of tree hole-breeding frogs in the forests of India’s northeast and China. The team comprised PhD students of Biju and researchers from National Centre for Cell Science (Pune), University of Peradeniya (Sri Lanka), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium) and American Museum of Natural History (USA). The findings were published on 20 January 2016 in a paper titled Frankixalus, a new rhacophorid genus of tree hole-breeding frog with oophagous tadpoles in the international journal PLoS One. The genus has been named Frankixalus after Professor Franky Bossuyt of Vrije Universiteit Brussel for his contribution to amphibian research.