Panna Tiger Reserve

• It is a prime tiger-land located in Vindhyan Hills in northern Madhya Pradesh. It consists of dynamic dry deciduous forest. 
• The tiger reserve is run by the Ken river, and it is the northernmost boundary of natural distribution to teak (Tectona grandis).
• Apart from the tiger, it is home to other animals like the leopard, nilgai, chinkara, chousinga, chital, rusty spotted cat, porcupine, and sambhar. Gharials (long snouted crocodiles) and muggars (marsh crocodiles) can be found in River Ken. 

Why in the news?

• The researchers from Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, did a study on amphibians in the central Indian Panna Tiger Reserve and has come up with a list of five species hitherto undocumented in this region.
• Among the total of 15 species studied by the group, 12 are frogs and three are toads.
• Five species that the group has added to the faunal list of Madhya Pradesh are:
• The dwarf toad found in peninsular India 
• Odisha paddy frog, an inhabitant of eastern India

• Wrinkled cricket frog, earlier observed in Karnataka

• Pierre’s cricket frog, seen in Nepal, Bhutan and Assam

• Western burrowing frog, earlier seen in western India
• For the first time calls of western burrowing frogs have been recorded. 
• With climate change, the amphibians like frogs and toads are vulnerable to extinction. The scientists have pushed for detailed field information so that we get an idea of the behaviour and ecology of amphibian species from forested areas.

Toad and Frogs

Cryptic Species

• It is a term used to refer to species that appear the same but show up a difference when their DNA is examined.

References:

1. https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/field-study-adds-five-amphibians-to-madhya-pradeshs-fauna-list/article32704116.ece
2. https://www.pannatigerreserve.in/
3. https://www.wwfindia.org/about_wwf/critical_regions/national_parks_tiger_reserves/panna_tiger_reserve/
4. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/336784878369568670/
5. https://knowledgenuts.com/2013/08/13/the-difference-between-frogs-and-toads/