Guwahati: A tiny frog recorded in Mizoram’s Dampa Tiger Reserve has extended the known geographical range of the Northeast Indian Paddy Frog (Micryletta aishani) and provided the first documented evidence of the species’ diet.
Researchers from Mizoram University and the Mizoram State Cancer Institute recorded an adult male M. aishani in the Teirei Forest Range of Dampa Tiger Reserve in Mamit district during a herpetological expedition on March 21, 2025. Their findings have since been published in Reptiles & Amphibians.
The specimen was initially identified based on its physical characteristics and later confirmed through DNA analysis. Genetic testing showed that the Mizoram specimen clustered with previously identified M. aishani specimens, recording a genetic distance of 0.00.
The discovery is notable as the Dampa record represents the southernmost known occurrence of the species. The new location is approximately 147 km south of the species’ type locality at Subhong in Assam and around 23 km southwest of its previously known location at Sihhmui in Mizoram’s Aizawl district.
First evidence of the frog’s diet
The study has also shed light on the feeding habits of a species whose natural history remains poorly documented.
Researchers examined the frog’s gut contents and found undigested exoskeletons of small ants. According to the study, this marks the first recorded evidence of the diet of Micryletta aishani.
The frog is extremely small, with the examined male measuring just 21.6 mm in snout-to-vent length. It was found among dry leaf litter beside a forest track, a microhabitat that is consistent with earlier observations of the species.
Micryletta aishani was described as a new species from Assam in 2019. Molecular research at the time established that frogs previously identified as Micryletta inornata actually represented several genetically distinct lineages, leading to the recognition of M. aishani as a separate species.
The species is currently classified as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List, reflecting the limited information available about its distribution, population and ecology.
The research team comprised Mara Duasa Hlychho, Malsawmdawngliana, Ht. Decemson, Vanlalhruaia, Khawlhring Lalrinzuali, Mathipi Vabeiryureilai and Hmar Tlawmte Lalremsanga.
The researchers have called for additional surveys in adjoining areas of the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot to determine the species’ wider distribution. They have particularly highlighted southern Bangladesh and Myanmar as areas that warrant further investigation.
The latest record adds to the growing understanding of Dampa Tiger Reserve’s biodiversity, while highlighting how surveys in relatively unexplored forest habitats can reveal new information about the distribution and ecology of little-known species.