Assessment Results
Nanorana chayuensis
Chayu Spiny Frog, Chayu Paa Frog
Order:
Anura
Family:
Dicroglossidae
Synonym(s):
Paa chayuensis, Chaparana chayuensis, Rana maculosa chayuensis
Assessed for:
India
on:
15 Sep 2020
by:
AArk/ASG India Assessment Workshop
Authors:
Mohammad Firoz Ahmed, Mohini Mohan Borah, Dr. Tutul Bortamuli, Prof. Sabitry Choudhury Bordoloi, Kaushik Deuti, H.T. Lalremsanga, Nikhil Modak, Jayanta Roy, Chatoan Tesia and Karthikeyan Vasudevan
IUCN Global Red List:
Least Concern (LC)
National Red List:
(not assessed)
Distribution:
China, India
Evolutionary Distinctiveness score:
8.109675793
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.] | Least Concern (LC) | |
| 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 its type locality in Chayu, southeastern Xizang Province (Tibet), China. It is also present in adjacent northwestern Yunnan, China, and has been recorded in the Darjeeling District in West Bengal, India (Deuti and Ayyaswamy 2008). This species is known to occur within the Neora Valley National Park in India (Deuti and Ayyaswamy 2008) and a number of additional protected areas including Mehao and Dibang Wildlife Sanctuaries (Mohammad Firoz Ahmed, pers. comm. September 2020). It has also been recorded in West Bengal and across the Dibang River Basin in Arunachal Pradesh (Jayanta Roy, pers. comm. September 2020) and it has also been also recorded from Tawang Valley and Tenga Valley (Prof. Sabitry Choudhury Bordoloi, pers. comm. September 2020). It is expected to be present in intervening northern Myanmar, but this has not been confirmed. It is likely to occur more widely in India. It occurs between 1,000-2,600 m asl (Jayanta Roy, pers. comm. September 2020). |
| 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? | Yes, but outcome is unknown | |
| 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 | |
| 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.)? | Unknown | |
| 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, ecology, and threats. It needs further taxonomic investigation to see if there are additional species within it (Mohammad Firoz Ahmed, pers. comm. September 2020). |
| 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 unlikely to be reversed in time to prevent further decline / extinction | Harvesting of the species for human consumption and small-scale wood extraction in China represents a low level threat to the species (D.-Q. Rao pers. comm. June 2019). Climate change might cause drying of streams in the future, and Bd is a potential threat (Prudhvi Raj Gunturu, pers. comm. September 2020). Widespread human consumption in India, particularly in the Dibang River Basin is also considered a threat (India RLA/CNA workshop, September 2020). The construction of roads and associated dumping of road construction debris in the river, and the proposed construction of a large dam are major threats to this species, as its habitat is being destroyed (Jayanta Roy, pers. comm. September 2020). Many big hydroelectric projects are in planning and implementation phase (Mohammad Firoz Ahmed, pers. comm. September 2020). Bd is a potential threat to this species (India RLA/CNA workshop, September 2020). |
| 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? | Yes / probably | Harvesting of the species for human consumption and small-scale wood extraction in China represents a low level threat to the species (D.-Q. Rao pers. comm. June 2019). This species is commonly consumed and this is causing local declines in India (Jayanta Roy, pers. comm. September 2020). |
| 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 | This species is commonly present in the steep and fast flowing streams with large slippery boulders, rocky stream bed and waterfalls from altitude 816-2539 m in the Dibang River Basin (Jayanta Roy, pers. comm. September 2020). This species was found to be common in the study area during 2011-2019 (Jayanta Roy, pers. comm. September 2020). It is thought to be declining because of over-harvesting for consumption (Jayanta Roy, 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 | Noted that there is strong sexual dimorphism in the species, with the males developing spiney groves on the chest during the breeding season (Prof. Sabitry Choudhury Bordoloi and Jayanta Roy, pers. comm. September 2020). |
| 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? | Yes | The species commonly consumed in India (Jayanta Roy, pers. comm. September 2020). Locally this species is known as "Pambho". |
| 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? | Yes | This would make a good husbandry analog for more threatened Nanorana species (Karthikeyan Vasudevan, pers. comm. September 2020). |
| 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? | Yes | Yes, because it is a very large frog and is widely consumed. The males have spiney grooves on the chest that appear during the breeding season (Prof. Sabitry Choudhury Bordoloi and Jayanta Roy, pers. comm. September 2020). |
| 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)? | Unknown | Research into species validity needs to be prioritised. This concept was considered a junior synonym of Nanorana annandalii in the 2004 Global Amphibian Assessment. However it is now considered to be a valid species (Jayanta Roy, pers. comm. September 2020). There is a chance that this might not be a single species across its entire range, and this requires further investigation (Mohammad Firoz Ahmed, pers. comm. September 2020). |
Citation:
Mohammad Firoz Ahmed, Mohini Mohan Borah, Dr. Tutul Bortamuli, Prof. Sabitry Choudhury Bordoloi, Kaushik Deuti, H.T. Lalremsanga, Nikhil Modak, Jayanta Roy, Chatoan Tesia and Karthikeyan Vasudevan 2020. Conservation Needs Assessment for Nanorana chayuensis, India
(AArk/ASG India Assessment Workshop).
https://www.conservationneeds.org/assessment/5586
Accessed 18 May 2024
