Down To Earth brings you the top happenings in the world of global ecology
New species of marmoset discovered in the Amazon
A researcher has discovered a new species of marmoset, a type of primate in the Brazillian Amazon, even as its habitat is facing a flood of ‘developmental’ activities, according to a media report.
The new marmoset was discovered by Rodrigo Costa Araújo of the National Institute of Amazonian Research in Brazil’s Pará state, which lies in the country’s southwest.
The new species is distinct from other marmosets in that it has white tails rather than black, which the others have. It also has white feet and hands, white forearms and a beige-yellow spot on the elbow.
The name ‘Mico munduruku’ has been given to the marmoset, after the Munduruku Amerindians that are native to the region.
However, even as the marmoset has been discovered, its home is under great threats. Its habitat lies in a so-called ‘arc of deforestation’ in the Amazon where all sorts of ‘developmental activities’ including illegal logging, agricultural expansion, road and hydro-electric power plant building, have taken or are taking place.
New burrowing frog species confirmed in Jharkhand
A new species of burrowing frog has been confirmed in Jharkhand’s Chhota Nagpur Plateau. The frog was first discovered in 2015. Its existence was verified and confirmed recently and published in the journal Records of the Zoological Survey of India.
The frog is endemic to agricultural areas in Nawadih and Joungi village of Jharkhand’s Koderma district, according to a media report.
The frog is the newest species of the genus Spahaerotheca, of which, 10 other species are found in South Asia. It has been named as Spahaerotheca Magadha and will be known by the common name of ‘Magadha Burrowing Frog’.
The scientists who discovered it said that the discovery points to the fact that new species of frogs can still be found even in the ‘Central Indian Landscape’ other than the Western Ghats and the Northeast, where most discoveries are currently taking place.
School teacher killed and eaten by tiger in Pench
A young school teacher was attacked, killed and eaten by a tiger near a village bordering the Pench Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh’s Seoni district, according to a media report.
Manoj Dhurve used to work as a teacher in Mudiareeth village near the Khawas buffer zone of Pench. On August 6, he had gone in the morning to the forest to look for mushrooms.
When he did not return till late night, party of villagers set out to look. They ended up finding his almost fully-consumed body.
Officials have promised to find the tiger responsible and shift it away from the area.
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