Context:
- Deep under the Siju cave in the South Garo Hills of Meghalaya, scientists from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have discovered a new species of frog.
- This is the second similar find to be discovered in India; the first was the Micrixalus spelunca, which was found in a Tamil Nadu cave in 2014.
- The same team recently released the fourth new species of a waterfall frog (Amolops). In Arunachal Pradesh, the fossil remains of Amolops chanakya, Amolops terraorchis, and Amolops tawang were found.
Amolops Siju
- After the cave, the species was given the name Amolops siju.
- With more than 70 species currently recognized, the genus Amolops is one of the largest groupings of ranid frogs (family Ranidae) and is widely dispersed throughout northeast and north India, Nepal, Bhutan, China, through Indochina, and the Malaya Peninsula.
Suji caverns
- The cave is a limestone natural cave that can be found in Meghalaya, Northeast India’s South Garo Hills District.
- It is a 4-kilometer-long limestone natural cave.