Nyctibatrachus dattatreyaensis

Nyctibatrachus dattatreyaensis
Conservation status
Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Anura
Family:	Ranidae
Genus:	Nyctibatrachus
Species:	N. dattatreyaensis
Binomial name
Nyctibatrachus dattatreyaensis Dinesh, Radhakrishnan & Bhatta, 2008

Nyctibatrachus dattatreyaensis is a wrinkled night frog species first described in the Shola forests around the Dattatreya Peeta in the Chikkamagaluru district of Karnataka. The habitat is upstream of the Manikyadhara falls of the Chandra Drona Parvatha hill ranges of the Western Ghats, India.

Description

The species has the head wider than long; skin on the dorsum highly wrinkled with transverse corrugated folds; three discontinuous longitudinal folds, one dorsolaterally and two laterally; webbing on toes medium (3/4); two yellowish bands on the dorsolateral area, prominent from sub-adult to adult stage; femoral glands present.^[1] Nyctibatrachus dattatreyaensis is a medium-sized (about 40 mm) frog active during night. The thumb pad and femoral glands are prominent in mature males. Eyes are golden yellow with black rhomboidal pupils. The upper surface of the body is reddish black to stone black with two yellow lateral bands. In day time, the frog prefers to hide below small boulders and damp leaf litter along the slow-flowing streams of the Shola forests in the hill ranges. The genus Nyctibatrachus is endemic to the Western Ghats. Nyctibatrachus dattatreyaensis is one among the 16 known nominal species.

Discovery

The frog was discovered in 2008 by scientists from Zoological Survey of India. It was named Nyctibatrachus dattatreyaensis, after the Dattatreya shrine in its habitat.

Risk

Environmentalists say the Chandra Drona Parvatha hill ranges are noted for medicinal herbs. Unauthorised collection of herbs is rampant there. The area is under immense human pressure from ecotourism. The water source of the Manikyadhara falls is endangered.^[2]

References

1. ^ Dinesh, KP, Radhakrishnan C & Gopalakrishna Bhatta (2008) A new species of Nyctibatrachus Boulenger (Amphibia: Anura: Nyctibatrachidae) from the surroundings of Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary, Western Ghats, India, Zootaxa 1914: 45–56
2. ^ "Kerala / Kozhikode News : Another frog species discovered". The Hindu. 2008-11-30. http://www.hindu.com/2008/11/30/stories/2008113054010500.htm. Retrieved 2011-09-21.