Das Biju discovered the species in the Western Ghats, a vast mountain range in western India. The frog has a light brown back and head. The sides of its body are dark brown and the belly has white and dark brown patches. The most remarkable thing about Mysticellus franki is that the frog species most closely related to it is found 2,000 kilometres away in south-east India.
By naming the frog ‘franki’, Bossuyt’s former pupil honours him for “his role in global amphibian research and education, and in particular for his contribution to the study of Indian amphibians”.
This is stated in the article in the scientific journal "Nature", in which the findings were published today.