12 new species & rediscovery of 3 Lost! night frogs published in the latest issue of  Zootaxa, a peer-reviewed journal for animal taxonomists.


Chikilidae: a new family of legless amphibians discovered from northeast India. Published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, London, February 2012.


Three new Chikila species described (in press) from northeast India.

Our team is in a constant state of readiness. The main constraint is availability of resources. Some of our ongoing plans are already funded. But there is a huge gap between what is needed and what is available as funds.

Projects (Major Grants)
National: 1,12,28,533 INR
International: USD 228,988 (1,07,62,436 INR)
Total: 2,19,90,969 INR

  • DBT: Development of DNA Barcode for amphibian fauna of the Western Ghats, DBT, Government of India
  • MoEF: Diversity and endemism of hill stream amphibians of the Western Ghats of Kerala and Karnataka, MoEF, Government of India
  • IUCN/ASG: Amphibians of India: in search of ‘the lost species’, Amphibian Specialist Group (IUCN/SSC)
  • CEPF/CI: Conservation of Caecilians in the Eastern Himalayas Region, CEPF, Conservation International, Washington, USA
  • Royal Society London/NHM, London: International Joint Project under the scheme Royal Society Program through the Natural History Museum, London (NHM): Amphibians of Northeast India
  • US Fish and Wildlife: Establishing a Protected Area Network for the Threatened Amphibians of the Western Ghats
  • PTES/ZSL: Conservation assessment and prioritization of the Indian Purple frog (Nasikabatrachus sp.) through systematics and reproductive biology, PTES, Zoological Society of London, London
  • University of Delhi: Amphibians of India
  • CEPF/Conservation International: Western Ghats Network of Protected areas for Threatened Amphibians