Purple Frog

  Purple Frog

(Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis)

The Purple Frog is one of only two species in the Nasikabatrachidae family. It is found in the Western Ghats in India. It is also known as Pignose frog.

Conservation status:- Endangered

Scientific classification:

Kingdom:   Animalia

Phylum:     Chordata

Class:        Amphibia

Order:       Anura

Family:     Nasikabatrachidae

Genus:     Nasikabatrachus

Species:  N. sahyadrensis

It is endemic to Southern Western Ghats in India. It remains underground most of the year except for 2-3 weeks during the monsoon when it comes out to mate.

It is a "living fossil", this species exist on Earth since 70 millions years ago (7 crores years) at that time, it co-exist which dinosaurs. It's closest relative is found in the Seychelles Archipelagos, the Indian Ocean. The Indian subcontinent and the Seychelles were once part of the same landmass "Gondawana land", but they were separated 65 millions years ago.

The purple frog has a bloated body with short stout limbs and is dark purple to greyish in colour. Reaching to about 7 centimetres, it has a small head in comparison to the body length, and an unusually pointed snout. Its short and muscular forelimbs with hard palms help it to burrow underground. Unlike other frogs, it has very short hind legs, which does not allow it to leap from one spot to another. As a result, it covers any distance with long strides. It depends more on its sense of smell to hunt out soil termites underground.

This burrow-dwelling frog prefers loose, damp and well-aerated soil close to ponds and ditches or streams. This makes it convenient for adults to come out to mate during the monsoon and the females lay eggs in the water bodies. Around 3000 eggs are laid in a rock pool and the tadpoles metamorphose after 100 days.

                             Tadpole of Purple Frog

Only 135 individuals of this species are known, of which only 3 are females. The major threat to it is habitat loss due to human encroachment.