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Manipur is one of the eight states of North-Eastern India, situated at the confluence and conjunction of two biodiversity hotspots- the Himalayan and Indo- Burma hot spots. It lies between 23°80′ N to 25°70′ N latitudes and 93°50′ E to 94°80′ E longitude, bounded by Nagaland in the North, Assam in the East, Mizoram in the south, and Myanmar in the east and southeast. Manipur has a rich diversity of culture and tradition also. The state has varied physiographic zones harboring rich and diversified amphibian fauna. We discuss the twenty-seven species of amphibian fauna reported from the region and conservation strategies and their importance in the chapter.
Department of Biological Sciences, Yusuf Maitama Sule University, Nigeria
Loukrakpam Bina Chanu
Department of Zoology, Manipur University, India
Mohilal Naorem
Department of Zoology, Manipur University, India
*Address all correspondence to: mmanjurshah@gmail.com
1. Introduction
Manipur has a geographical area of 22,327 km2. It is between 23°80′ N to 25°70′ N latitudes and 93°50′ E to 94°80′ E longitude. Nagaland bounds the region in the North, Assam in the East, Mizoram in the South, and Myanmar in the East and Southeast. The state is rich in biodiversity covering under two global Bio-diversity “hotspots, “viz., Himalayan Biodiversity hotspot and Indo- Burma biodiversity hotspot. The floral and faunal diversity of the place shows affinities with the surrounding biogeographical zones. The state with many endemic species has a forest cover of 17.233 km2 consisting of 4000 vascular plants, 430 medicinal plants, 34 edible fungi species, 500 orchid species, 55 bamboo species, 40 endemic rice cultivars, 160 fish species [1]. According to the ENVIS Hub, Manipur 2015, 13 amphibians are in Manipur. This number increased with further investigation and study. There is an excellent possibility of a further increase in the number of animals in this particular region if we could carry out a more intense and in-depth analysis of various ecosystems of Manipur.
The present communication is a review based on the cited literature (Figure 1).
Figure 1.
Map of Manipur
Amphibians are considered one of the ecosystem indicators. They live in every habitat with a rich diversity in rainforests, wetlands, deserts, alpine environments, etc.
The people of Manipur have loved frogs and toads from the very beginning of childhood. Sounds made by frogs and toads at night are sleep-inducing. During childhood, we played with the slippery frog eggs and alluring tadpoles at nearby ponds. Nevertheless, those croaking sounds, eggs, and tadpoles are hardly heard.
Amphibians are 4-limbed or limbless vertebrate animals which live on land and in water (amphi = dual, habit = life, i.e., dual mode of life). Amphibians evolved around 350 million years ago. They have simple body structures and delicate and permeable skin; some species have no lungs, such as salamanders. Chinese giant salamander is the largest amphibian growing up to 6 feet in length.
The class Amphibians have three orders as.
Order 1. Anura (having no tails), e.g., frogs and toads.
Order 2. Caudata (having tails and feet), e.g., newts and salamanders.
Order 3. Gymnophiona (having no limbs), e.g., caecilians, Ichthyophis.
There are three stages of amphibians in their life cycle, i.e., Egg-Larva-Adult.
Chanda [2] reported 11 amphibian species from Manipur, Keising [3] recorded the Himalayan newt Tylotoyriton verrucous from Ulkhrul district, Sen and Mathew [4] listed 17 species, and Sarkar et al. [5] listed 14 species from the state (Figure 2).
Figure 2.
Photo courtesy: Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org
Ningombam and Bordoloi [6] recorded the following species from Loktak lake of Manipur and its surrounding areas (Table 1).
Frog meats are soft and can cook in many ways. They can be used for soup making, cooked curry as chicken, and dried or fried. Frogs thighs are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, potassium, and vitamin A. some tribal people in the hills, as well as people in the plains of Manipur, eat dried amphibians. Frogs are dried in the sun or heat and sold in markets like smoked fish. Fermented dried frogs are also available. The fermented frogs could also be converted into chatni and sold in the markets of some hill districts of Manipur [7].
In Manipur, Loktak Lake provides the congenital breeding ground for the different species of frogs. The frogs recorded so far belong to the lotic and the lentic ecosystem. Xenophrys wuliangshanensis, Xenophrys major, X. parva, Amolops formossus, Anolopsgerbillus, Humerana humeralis, Euphlyetis heradactylus were reported from the Border States like Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh [1, 8].
Frogs have essential roles as predators and prey in the food chain. Young tadpoles and adult frogs eat algae and regulate the algal blooms reducing algal contamination. Birds, fish, monkeys, and snakes prey on frogs. If frogs disappear, there will be deterioration in the food web throughout an entire ecosystem. They have highly permeable skin that can easily absorb bacteria, chemicals, and other toxins, which makes them susceptible to the environment and considered environmental indicators. Frogs eat pesky bugs, adults, and larvae of mosquitoes that can transmit dengue fever, malaria, WEST Nile fever, and Zika. They have been a model for various biological processes in laboratory studies. Frogs’ toxins have are potential as therapeutic drugs.
Amphibians play crucial roles as predators and prey, helping maintain the balance of nature. They also act as bioindicators that help us monitor the health of the ecosystems. They are also cultural and religious symbols such as rain, life, and good luck.
There are myriad benefits from amphibians. Major ones include:
Basic science: amphibians can yield many secrets through basic scientific research
Ecosystem health: they help in the maintenance of ecosystem health
Bioindicators: they can act as bioindicators of ecosystem health
Medicines: many of them give beautiful medicines, e.g., the Australian red-eyed tree frog (Litoria chloris) produces an anti-AIDS compound
Biocontrol: as they eat insects, they help check agricultural insect pests and diseases such as malaria
Esthetic: they are beautiful animals and have the right to exist
Cultural: amphibians are cultural symbols used as harbingers of rain, good luck, and happy life.
Due to global warming or a temperature rise, there may be some effect on the population and reproduction of these dual-life amphibians. Besides these, many amphibian eaters in Manipur consider them a portion of traditional food. Food is scarce due to overpopulation’s decrease in the cultivable land area resulted by overpopulation. There is malnutrition in poverty-line children, especially in Manipur [4]. Manipur has high endemicity. Nevertheless, climate change and anthropogenic pressures such as the destruction of habitat, heavy urbanization, and the destruction of wetlands have led to the extinction of amphibians from North-East India. With the help of various National and International legislations, there is an urgent need to conserve and maintain the amphibian population.
References
1.Ao JM, Bordoloi S, Ohler A. Amphibian fauna of Nagaland with nineteen new records from the state including five new records for India. Zoos’ Print Journal. 2003;18(6):1117-1125
2.Chanda SK. Anuran ( amphibian) fauna of Northeast India. Memoirs of the Zoological Survey of India. 1994;18(6):1-143
3.Keising S. Notes on Tylototriton verrucosus Anderson. A critically endangered newt from Manipur. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 2001;98(2):291-292
4.Sen N, Mathew R. Notes on a rare frog, Pterorana khare Kiyasetuo and Khare 1986, from north East India, with report on its hitherto unknown female. Records of Zoological Survey of India. 2003;106:121-122
5.Sarkar AK, Chanda PK, Ray S. State Fauna Series 10: Fauna of Manipur. Kolkata: Zoological Survey of India; 2005. pp. 123-132
6.Ningomba B, Bordoloi S. Amphibian fauna of Loktak Lake, Manipur, India with the new records for the state. Zos’ Print Journal. 2006;22(5):2688-2690
7.Chanu OP. Traditional use of insects and amphibia as food in Manipur and its correlation with global warming. International Journal of Applied Research. 2017;3(8):475-477
8.Borah MM, Bordoloi S. Altitudinal distribution pattern of amphibian fauna of Arunachal Pradesh with special reference to Dehang Debang Biosphere Reserve, Arunachal Pradesh. Himalayan Biosphere reserve Bulletin. 2003;5(1 & 2):51-55
Written By
Mohammad Manjur Shah, Loukrakpam Bina Chanu and Mohilal Naorem
Submitted: 23 July 2022Reviewed: 04 November 2022Published: 01 December 2022
Open access peer-reviewed chapter
