Assessment Results
Minervarya chilapata
Order:
Anura
Family:
Dicroglossidae
Synonym(s):
Fejervarya chilapata
Assessed for:
India
on:
22 Sep 2020
by:
AArk/ASG India Assessment Workshop
Authors:
Mohammad Firoz Ahmed, Basundhara Chettri, Dr. Tutul Bortamuli, Annemarie Ohler and Jayanta Roy
IUCN Global Red List:
Data Deficient (DD)
National Red List:
(not assessed)
Distribution:
India
Evolutionary Distinctiveness score:
18.8323707
Recommended Conservation Actions:
Additional Comments:
| Question # | Short Name | Question Text | Response | Comments |
| 1 | Extinction risk | Current IUCN Red List category. [Data obtained from the IUCN Red List.] | Data Deficient (DD) | |
| 2 | Possibly extinct | Is there a strong possibility that this species might be extinct in the wild? | No / unlikely | |
| 3 | Phylogenetic significance | The taxon’s Evolutionary Distinctiveness (ED) score, as generated by the ZSL EDGE program. (These data are not editable by Assessors). | ED value < 20 | |
| 4 | Protected habitat | Is a population of at least 50% of the individuals of the taxon included within a well-managed or reliably protected area or areas? | No / unlikely | This species is known from the 41 km2 Chilapata Forest Reserve, district of Jalpaiguri, state of West Bengal, India (Ohler et al. 2009). The Reserve is found between Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary and Buxa Tiger Reserve, both in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, and it is flanked by the Torsa and Kaljani Rivers (Ohler et al. 2009). This frog could potentially be found in the plains of northern West Bengal in the duars area, wherever there may be good forest cover with leaf litter and temporary rain pools in the monsoon season (A.Ohler and K. Deuti pers. comm. January 2012). Areas adjoining the Chilapata Forest Reserve have not been systematically surveyed given the dangers associated with local wildlife, making it difficult to undertake night surveys. However, these are potential areas for the occurrence of this species (K. Deuti pers. comm. January 2012). It also occurs in the forest of Kodalbasti Range of Jaldapara National Park in Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri districts of West Bengal State (Deuti et al. 2017). It occurs within a forest reserve (Ohler et al. 2009), which is currently well-managed (A. Ohler and K. Deuti pers. comm. January 2012). This species is also distributed in the north-western region, on the border of Bhutan, in Assam State, including Manas Tiger Reserve and Orang National Park (Mohammad Firoz Ahmed, pers. comm. September 2020). It is only known from protected areas in Assam, although it occurs in unprotected areas elsewhere (Mohammad Firoz Ahmed, pers. comm. September 2020). It most likely also occurs in Bhutan. It is possibly that it occurs more widely outside of this range (Mohammad Firoz Ahmed, pers. comm. September 2020). It is currently known from 50-100 m asl (A. Ohler and K. Deuti pers. comm. January 2012). |
| 5 | Habitat for reintroduction, conservation translocation or supplementation | Does enough well-managed and reliably protected habitat exist, either within or outside of currently protected areas that is suitable for conservation translocation, including population restoration or conservation introduction? | Yes / probably | |
| 6 | Previous reintroductions | Have reintroduction or translocation attempts been made in the past for this species? | No | |
| 7 | In situ conservation activities | Are any in situ conservation actions currently in place for this species? (Only required if a Red List Assessment has not been completed, or if new actions have been implemented since the last Red List Assessment. (Information from the Conservation Actions section of the Red List assessment should be reviewed and considered when answering this question.). | Yes / probably | It occurs within a forest reserve (Ohler et al. 2009), which is currently well-managed (A. Ohler and K. Deuti pers. comm. January 2012), as well as several other protected areas (Mohammad Firoz Ahmed, pers. comm. September 2020). |
| 8 | In situ conservation activities | Are additional in situ conservation actions required to help conserve this species in the wild (e.g. habitat restoration and/or protection, control of invasive species, national legislation etc.)? | ||
| 9 | In situ research | Is additional in situ research required to better understand the species, e.g. distribution, population trends, natural history etc.? | Yes | More information is needed on this species' distribution, population status and size, natural history and threats. |
| 10 | Threat mitigation | Are the threats facing the taxon, including any new and emerging threats not considered in the IUCN Red List, potentially reversible? | Threats are likely to be reversible in time frame to prevent further decline / extinction | It is unknown whether it can tolerate habitat disturbance, although destruction of canopy cover could potentially affect its population given the possibility of desiccation of its suspected breeding habitat (small rain pools)(A. Ohler and K. Deuti pers. comm. January 2012). It does not appear to be only dependent on forest habitats, however it has not been recorded from in disturbed habitats (Mohammad Firoz Ahmed and Annemarie Ohler, pers. comm. September 2020). Loss of canopy cover due to illegal logging would likely be the major threat to this species, as it could affect desiccation of small rain pools, suspected to be used for breeding (K. Deuti pers. comm. January 2012). However, compared to the illegal logging that takes place in neighbouring Buxa Tiger Reserve, the Chilapata Reserve is comparatively well protected (K. Deuti pers. comm. January 2012). There is some farming pressure for paddy cultivation and tea gardens in the duars area of North Bengal, but the protected forest lands tend to be less encroached (K. Deuti pers. comm. January 2012). |
| 11 | Over-collection from the wild | Is the taxon suffering from collection within its natural range, either for food, for the pet trade or for any other reason, which threatens the species’ continued persistence in the wild? | No / unlikely | |
| 12 | Population recovery | Is the known population of this species in the wild large enough to recover naturally, without ex situ intervention if threats are mitigated? | Yes / probably | It was first found in Chilapata Forest Reserve in 2007 and then again in subsequent short surveys in 2009 and 2010 (A. Ohler and K. Deuti pers. comm. January 2012). It is considered to be a common species (20-30 individuals per survey session along a 6 km forest road from Bania River to Mendabari inside the Reserve), although difficult to detect given its small size (A. Ohler and K. Deuti pers. comm. January 2012). No specific information is available on the population trend of the species (A. Ohler and K. Deuti pers. comm. January 2012), and the population is not currently considered to be severely fragmented. In Manas Tiger Reserve it is also considered to be relatively common (Mohammad Firoz Ahmed, pers. comm. September 2020). |
| 13 | Action plans | Does an Action Plan for the species already exist, or is one currently being developed? | No | |
| 14 | Biological distinctiveness | Does the taxon exhibit a distinctive reproductive mode, behaviour, aspect of morphology or physiology, within the Order to which it belongs (e.g. Anura, Passeriformes etc.)? | No aspect of biology known to be exceptional | |
| 15 | Cultural/socio-economic importance | Does the taxon have a special human cultural value (e.g. as a national or regional symbol, in a historic context, featuring in traditional stories) or economic value (e.g. food, traditional medicine, tourism) within its natural range or in a wider global context? | No | |
| 16 | Scientific importance | Is the species vital to current or planned research other than species-specific ecology/biology/conservation within the Order to which it belongs (e.g. Anura, Passeriformes etc.) e.g. human medicine, climate change, environmental pollutants and conservation science? | No research dependent on this species | |
| 17 | Ex situ research | Does conserving this species (or closely related species) in situ depend upon research that can be most easily carried out ex situ? | No | |
| 18 | Ex situ conservation activities | Is any ex situ research or other ex situ conservation action currently in place for this species? (Information from the Conservation Actions section of the Red List assessment should be reviewed and considered when answering this question.) | No / unlikely | |
| 19 | Husbandry analog required | If an ex situ rescue program is recommended for this species, would an analog species be required to develop husbandry protocols first? | No / unlikely | |
| 20 | Husbandry analog | Do the biological and ecological attributes of this species make it suitable for developing husbandry regimes for more threatened related species? i.e. could this species be used in captivity to help to develop husbandry and breeding protocols which could be used for a similar, but more endangered species at a later stage? | No | |
| 21 | Captive breeding | Has this species been successfully bred and/or maintained in captivity? | Not held in captivity to date | |
| 22 | Conservation education/ecotourism potential | Is the species especially diurnal, active or colourful, or is there an interesting or unusual aspect of its ecology that make it particularly suitable to be an educational ambassador for conservation of the species in the range country, either in zoos or aquariums or within ecotourism activities? | No | |
| 23 | Mandate | Is there an existing conservation mandate recommending the ex situ conservation of this taxon? | No | |
| 24 | Range State approval | If an ex situ initiative was proposed for this species, would it be supported (and approved) by the range State (either within the range State or out-of-country ex situ)? | Yes / probably | |
| 25 | Founder specimens | Are sufficient animals of the taxon available or potentially available (from wild or captive sources) to initiate an ex situ program, if one was recommended? | Yes / probably | |
| 26 | Taxonomic status | Has a complete taxonomic analysis of the species in the wild been carried out, to fully understand the functional unit you wish to conserve (i.e. have species limits been determined)? | Yes |
Citation:
Mohammad Firoz Ahmed, Basundhara Chettri, Dr. Tutul Bortamuli, Annemarie Ohler and Jayanta Roy 2020. Conservation Needs Assessment for Minervarya chilapata, India
(AArk/ASG India Assessment Workshop).
https://conservationneeds.org/assessment/5563
Accessed 05 Feb 2025
