‘The purple frog’ was discovered only 17 years ago i.e., 2003 in India. It was discovered in the Idukki district of Kerala by S.D. Biju (from the Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute in Palode, India).
This animal belongs to the family of Nasikabatrachidae, which is left with only two species, out of which the purple frog is one. Nasikabatrachidae family is endemic to the Western Ghats of India and has been growing freely for about 100 million years.
Scientific shreds of evidence have shown that the purple frog is closely related to a family of small frogs only found in Seychelles (an archipelagic island country in the Indian Ocean at the eastward end of the Somali Sea).
This animal is fossorial i.e., it belongs to burrowing species. Due to which it has been overlooked by science for so many years.
How do the purple frog feed?
These animals have sucker-like mouthparts which they use to cling onto the algae-covered rocks where they feed.
Why are the purple frogs endangered?
Places, where these purple frogs are found, are slowly being damaged by human interventions. This species is listed in the endangered species list by the IUCN because of the increase in agricultural land and reduction in forest land. They have very specific breeding biology which makes them vulnerable to habitat loss and change.
Habitat and Ecology of the purple frog.
This animal is mostly found in loose, damp aerated soil in areas with good canopy cover and at low elevation sites under 1,000 m above sea level.
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