In Chittagong, Bangladesh, a new species of frog named “Chattgai ar gata bang” was found by the Creative Conservation Alliance.

A group of researchers from Sweden and Bangladesh identified the organism from Chittagong, whose name literally means 'puddle frog.' On August 19, the findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal, PeerJ Chemistry.

According to Shahriar Caesar Rahman, CEO of Creative Conservation Alliance and co-author of the paper, this frog is currently found in Chittagong's Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary and Cox Bazar's Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary.

The frog was first traced back to 2017 when a Swedish biologist took some pictures of it. 

Why are frogs important for the environment? 

ِAccording to the New South Wales Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, scientists have been increasingly aware of a worldwide decline in the number of frogs in recent years. The last 25 years have seen the extinction of 8 frog species, with several more expected to follow.

Frogs are extremely important since they are bioindicators of any change in the air and water; their skin is so sensitive that it is quickly affected by any change in the surrounding environment.  

In addition, toxic mosquitoes are eaten by frogs, and their tadpoles filter our drinking water, according to Save the Frogs. 

Algae-eating tadpoles keep the waterways clean. It is well-known that adult frogs devour a vast number of insects, including disease vectors (such as mosquitoes and malaria).

Also, frogs were and still are used in medical research. Frogs have been used in about 10% of Nobel Prize-winning studies in Physiology and Medicine. If frogs were to disappear, so would any promise it represents for improving human health.