''Minervarya nicobariensis'', the Nicobar frog or Nicobar cricket-frog, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the

Nicobar Islands The Nicobar Islands are an archipelagic island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean. They are located in Southeast Asia, northwest of Aceh on Sumatra, and separated from Thailand to the east by the Andaman Sea. Located southeast of the Indian s ...

of India. In the past it has been considered to be the same species as '' Fejervarya andamanensis'' from the neighbouring

Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a maritime boundary between th ...

, but is now regarded a valid species. It is restricted to the central and northern group of Nicobar Islands. It is relatively common in suitable habitat, particularly on Car Nicobar island. Its preferred

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

are grasslands, where the species breeds in the rainwater puddles. On Car Nicobar, it also occurs coastal wetlands and along newly cleared forest trails.

References

Nicobariensis Frogs of India Endemic fauna of the Nicobar Islands Amphibians described in 1870 Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN {{dicroglossidae-stub