Rare Tree Frog Rediscovered After 150 Years, Eats Its Mother’s Eggs

This 2010 photo provided by biologist S.D. Biju shows a Frankixalus jerdonii, belonging to a newly found genus of frogs, seated in the wild. The frogs live high in the forest canopies of northeastern Indian jungles. (SD Biju via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

A curious tree frog that breeds in the hollows of trees and feeds its young its own unfertilized eggs was rediscovered in Southeast Asia---nearly 150 years later.

The specimen, Jerdon’s tree frog, was last seen in 1870, according to National Geographic, but it was found alive in the forests of northeastern India. The frog lives in holes in trees and bamboo as high as 20 feet, making it difficult to spot.

In this Jan. 14, 2016, photo, preserved tadpoles of a frog named Frankixalus jerdonii, a new genus of frogs, are seen at Systematics Lab at the University of Delhi, Department of Environmental Studies, in New Delhi. Scientists have discovered the new genus of tree frogs in India thought to have been extinct for over a century. AP Photo/Altaf Qadri

AP Photo/Altaf Qadri

In this Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016, photo, amphibian biologist and scientist SD Biju works in his lab on a newly found genus of frogs named Frankixalus jerdonii, at Systematics Lab of the University of Delhi, Department of Environmental Studies, in New Delhi. Scientists led by Biju have rediscovered the frogs and identified them as part of a new genus, one step higher than a species on the taxonomic ranking. AP Photo/Altaf Qadri

“This is an exciting find, but it doesn’t mean the frogs are safe,” Biju added, adding that he hopes the discovery leads to more awareness of the dangers of unfettered development to the animals. 

Some of the forest areas where Biju’s team collected frogs in 2007 and 2008 were already slashed and burned by 2014 for agricultural development. The region’s tropical forests are quickly disappearing because of programs to cut trees, plant rice, expand human settlements and build roads.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.