Indian purple frog

By Hannah Lindstrom

Scientific Name: Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis

These uniquely purple frogs live in the Western Ghats of Southern India. While their distribution is very limited, this is not the only reason why it took scientists so long to discover them. These frogs spend the majority of their lives underground, only to surface two weeks every year for mating purposes. They don’t even need to come up for food; they are able to live on a diet of the food that exists underground, which is mainly termites.

Indian purple frog. Photo courtesy of Karthickbala
These frogs also look as strange as they sound. They always seem like they are bloated, or look like they have had a little too much to eat. They have a very small head in comparison to their body, and have a white snout that sticks out from their face. And, as I am sure you can guess, they have smooth deep purple skin.

These strange creatures are in trouble due to deforestation for coffee, cardamom, and ginger plantations. It is very important that we play an active role in the preservation of this species, and all species like it. The rainforest has so many different species of animals and many will go extinct before we even know that they exist if we continue cutting down their habitats.




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