TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A new species of critically endangered music frog has been confirmed in Taiwan.

At a Thursday press conference held by National Taiwan Normal University, Professor Lin Si-min (林思民) from NTNU's Department of Life Sciences announced the findings, per CNA. The research, conducted in collaboration with the Taiwan Biodiversity Research Institute and the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency, showed the frog is a separate species from a similar-looking amphibian found on Japan's Yaeyama Islands.

Lin explained the harpist brown frog (Nidirana okinavana) was discovered in 1895 on Ishigaki Island or Iriomote Island in Japan's Okinawa Prefecture. In 1984, Chen Shyh-huang (陳世煌), then an assistant instructor at NTNU, identified a frog species resembling the harpist brown frog but smaller in size in Nantou County's Yuchi Township. 

Chen suspected it was a new species, but due to the lack of molecular evidence at the time, it was not officially classified.

By the 1990s, most scientists believed the Taiwanese and Japanese harpist brown frogs were the same species. However, Lin’s team reopened the study in 2019 and found significant genetic differences. 

In 2023, researchers identified significant morphological differences between Taiwan's harp frogs and those from Japan. The Nidirana shyhhuangi is smaller in size and has more horizontal stripes on its legs compared to its Japanese counterpart. 

Last year their vocalizations were also found to be distinct, with the Taiwanese frog producing rapid, high-pitched calls, while the Japanese frog emitted slower, lower-pitched sounds.

On Feb. 27, the Taiwanese frog was officially recognized as an endemic Taiwanese species. The species was named Nidirana shyhhuangi, with the second half of the name derived from Chen's first name. 

In addition, the specimen Chen collected and preserved in 1984 has now been designated as the holotype, the most important reference specimen in taxonomy.

Researchers believe the population consists of only one known population occupying two small habitats, making it critically endangered.

Taiwan Biodiversity Research Institute associate research fellow Lin Chun-fu (林春富) added the species' total habitat area is only 0.015 square kilometers, with an estimated adult population of 300 to 700 individuals. Lin said the frog faces threats from typhoons, landslides, large-scale development, and human disturbances.

To protect the species, Lin said his organization and the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute have published a conservation action plan. Efforts include habitat restoration such as waste removal and water redirection, as well as long-term monitoring, ex-situ conservation, conservation translocation, and exhibitions on endangered species.