Nyctibatrachus minimus

Nyctibatrachus minimus
Conservation status
Data Deficient (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Anura
Family:	Ranidae
Genus:	Nyctibatrachus
Species:	N. minimus
Binomial name
Nyctibatrachus minimus Biju, Van Bocxlaer, Giri, Roelants, Nagaraju & Bossuyt, 2007

Nyctibatrachus minimus is a species of frog in the Ranidae family. It is the smallest known frog in the genus Nyctibatrachus and was recently discovered from Kurichiyarmala in the Western Ghats or Wayanad, Kerala.

Its most distinctive feature is the small adult snout-vent length, averaging only 12.3 mm in adult males (N = 15).

Miniaturization in Nyctibatrachus species seems to be associated with absence of webbing on toes and fingers, which may have resulted from evolutionary specialization to life in terrestrial habitats.^[1]

References

1. ^ Biju, S. D., Ines Van Bocxlaer, Varad B. Giri, Kim Roelants, J. Nagaraju and Franky Bossuyt (2007) A new nightfrog, Nyctibatrachus minimus sp. nov. (Anura: Nyctibatrachidae): The smallest frog from India. Current Science Vol. 93, No. 6: 854-858 PDF