Purple frog
The purple frog (Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis) also called the mahabali frog, is a frog species in the family Sooglossidae.[2] It lives in the Western Ghats also some parts of kerala in India. Common names for this species are Indian purple frog, pignose frog or doughnut frog, Mahabali frog. It was discovered by S.D. Biju and F. Bossyut in October 2003.
| Purple frog | |
|---|---|
| |
| Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis | |
| Calls of Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis | |
| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Nasikabatrachidae |
| Genus: | Nasikabatrachus |
| Species: | N. sahyadrensis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis Biju & Bossuyt, 2003
| |
| |
| Distribution range of Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis (in ORANGE) | |
This frog's body is shaped similarly to that of most frogs. It is somewhat rounded. It has a small head and an unusual pointed snout. Adults are typically dark purple in color. Its cry sounds more like one from a chicken.
The frog spends most of the year underground. It comes out only for about two weeks, during the monsoon. This is to mate.
Unlike many other digging species of frogs that feed above the ground, this species eats underground. They feed mainly on termites using their tongue.
The purple frog has one close relative, Bhupathy's purple frog, which also lives in the Western Ghats.[3][4][5]
The purple frog starts off living their life at the base of land, but as they get older their bone structure morphs into a structure that becomes efficient for digging into dirt. This allows them to live a majority of their lives underground. Males will rarely come to the surface for mating purposes.The closest relatives of the Purple Frog (Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis) are frogs from the Sooglossidae family, which are small frogs endemic to the Seychelles Islands.
These frogs and the Purple Frog share a common ancestor dating back to the time of the supercontinent Gondwana, which split into different land masses about 120 million years ago. The Purple Frog evolved in the Western Ghats of India, while the Sooglossidae frogs remained isolated in the Seychelles.
Both groups are part of an ancient lineage of frogs and are considered relict species—survivors of a very old evolutionary branch. They share some unique traits, including their burrowing lifestyles and adaptations to underground habitats.
Other ideas
Scientists say that because the purple frog and Bhupathy's purple frog have close relatives in the Seychelles, which are close to Africa, it is likely that the Gondwanaland idea of why the continents are where they are is right. This idea says that Africa and India used to be one large continent, called Gondwanaland.[4]
Why the unique name ?
It is said that king mahabali rises from the ground once every year this day is celebrated as onam in kerala just as the king rises once every year the purple frog rises from the earth for this unique resembelance it is mahabali frog for this reason.
Extinction
The purple frog (Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis) faces extinction as their habitat is threatened by agricultural expansion ( coffee, cardamom and etc) and the building of roads and other buildings in the region this is the main cause of extinction , their tadpoles are also eaten by locals. Their numbers are going down day by day let us spread awareness of this weird, unique and cool looking frog.
Purple Frog Media
Video recording of a vocalizing male.
Purple frog tadpoles
Purple frog young babies
References
- ↑ S.D. Biju (2004). "Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2004: e.T58051A11722468. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T58051A11722468.en.
- ↑ Frost, Darrel R. 2006. Amphibian Species of the World: an online reference. Version 4.0 (17 August 2006). Electronic Database [1]. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA.
- ↑ Jason Bittel (August 24, 2017). "New Purple Pig-Nose Frog Found in Remote Mountains". National Geographic.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Aathira Perinchery (August 23, 2017). "'N. phupathi', a frog with the face of a pig". The Hindu.
- ↑ S. Jegath Janani, Karthikeyan Vasudevan, Elizabeth Prendini, Sushil Kumar Dutta, Ramesh K. Aggarwa (July 31, 2017). "A new species of the genus Nasikabatrachus (Anura, Nasikabatrachidae) from the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats, India" (PDF). Alytes.
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