"Would you ever call a new frog by my name?" During their treks through the forests of the Western Ghats, late veteran journalist E Somanath would often joke with his close friend, Sathyabhama Das Biju, popularly known as the Frogman. Biju, one of the world's most respected amphibian biologists from Kerala, shared the wish but never acted on it, fully aware that Somanath disliked public recognition despite his playful remarks.

That long-cherished wish has now been fulfilled. One of the two newly identified slender-armed frog species from the remote mountains of Arunachal Pradesh, identified by Dr Biju, has been named Leptobrachium Somani, honouring E Somanath for his enduring commitment to environmental journalism. The species was discovered at Tiwarigaon, close to the India–China border.

“We shared a friendship that spanned over three decades. He would often ask, ‘When is my Somani coming?’ Even if I ever named a species after him, I had decided it should be something truly special—not limited to Kerala or even India—so that his legacy would live beyond borders,” recalls Dr Biju, now a professor at the University of Delhi. “The frog was found just three to four kilometres from the India–China border, making its presence in China almost certain,” he told Onmanorama.

Dr Biju is convinced that Somanath would never have agreed to such recognition during his lifetime. “He was not someone who liked publicity,” he notes. 

Somanath passed away on January 28, 2022, a year after retiring as Senior Special Correspondent with Malayala Manorama. Over a 34-year career with the newspaper, he built a reputation as a sharp political analyst, a witty Assembly reporter and a sensitive environmental writer, serving in bureaus at Kottayam, Idukki, Kannur, Kollam, New Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram.

Biju first met Somanath while pursuing his PhD in Botany at the University of Calicut, when Somanath was a journalism student there. Their friendship deepened over time, with Somanath often accompanying Biju on field expeditions, particularly across the Western Ghats. “He joined me on treks not as a journalist on assignment, but as someone who genuinely loved forests, biodiversity and the lives of people who inhabit these landscapes,” Biju says.

Their journeys took them to regions such as the Periyar Tiger Reserve, Ponmudi and the Agathiyarmalai Biosphere Reserve. “He also had a rare ability to explain science to ordinary people in the simplest possible way,” Biju adds.

The research paper explains the etymology of Leptobrachium somani as follows:
“The species is named after the late E Somanath (Ettazhi Somanath), a notable Indian journalist from Kerala, in appreciation of his dedicated reporting of environmental issues and his ardent love for nature. He frequently accompanied SDB on field expeditions in search of frogs.”

Dr Biju emphasises that the naming was rooted in professional respect, not personal sentiment alone. “Friendship cannot be mixed with science—that would be unethical. This is a tribute to his professionalism. He was a committed environmental journalist, even while being a veteran political reporter,” he says. “He was an extraordinary personality. I wanted to give him an eternal gift. Humans die, but names can live forever,” the professor reflects.

The discovery has been published in the US-based peer-reviewed journal PeerJ, following more than three years of intensive fieldwork in Arunachal Pradesh’s isolated regions. The research was led by Dr Biju as part of the doctoral work of his student A N Dikshit Akalabya Sarmah.

Leptobrachium somani is a small frog measuring about 55 mm, with a greyish-brown body, irregular light-grey markings and silver-grey to light-blue eyes. It inhabits evergreen forests, with males typically calling from the banks of forest streams.

The second species, Leptobrachium mechuka—commonly known as the Mechuka Slender Arm Frog—was first collected near Mechuka town in Arunachal Pradesh. Slightly larger at around 60 mm, it has a brown body with a reddish tinge and distinctive silvery-white eyes. The species occurs in evergreen forests and adjoining grasslands and was earlier reported from China under mistaken identity.

Biju describes the discovery as the result of sustained teamwork. “Each expedition lasts between 15 days and a month. Once a potential new species is identified, we conduct DNA analysis, morphological comparisons of adults and tadpoles, bioacoustic studies and three-dimensional micro-CT scans of the skeleton. The molecular data are then compared with all known species before the findings undergo multiple rounds of peer review.”

Dr Biju has so far been involved in the discovery of at least 112 new frog species, many from India’s Western Ghats and northeastern mountain regions, as well as from China, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. “More than a third of these discoveries are from India, and every one of them is the outcome of collaborative effort,” he says.

Fondly known as ‘Somettan’ among journalists, E Somanath was admired for mentoring younger colleagues and his non-confrontational approach. His weekly political column, Azhchakkurippukal, published on Malayala Manorama’s editorial page until his retirement, was widely read and frequently stirred political debate in Kerala.