Blue bones, green blood: Researchers discover rare frog species

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A frog with blue bones and green blood! Researchers from Delhi University have discovered this rare species in Arunachal Pradesh. Belonging to the Rhacophoridae family found across Asia, this frog is named Gracixalus. It’s the first time this genus has been found in India. Only a few species in the world — from regions like Southeast Asia, Madagascar, and South America — are known to exhibit this unique characteristic.

In Asia, only two species of tree frogs from the Gracixalus genus, found in Vietnam, Laos, and southern China, are known to have such features. Tej Tajo, a PhD researcher under the guidance of renowned frog scientist and Delhi University professor S.D. Biju, discovered this new species as part of his research on amphibians in Arunachal Pradesh. The Patkai green tree frog with blue bones and green blood — Gracixalus patkaiensis — was discovered in 2022 in the Namdapha National Park, India.

Another Chinese species in India

During field surveys in the Lower Subansiri and Lower Dibang Valley regions of Arunachal Pradesh, the team also found another group belonging to a different species — the Medog small tree frog, known as Gracixalus medogensis. This species was first discovered in 1984 in the Medog region of Tibet.

“In my more than three decades of studying Indian amphibians, I have never seen such a frog anywhere in India.”
— S.D. Biju,
Professor, Delhi University