The Dattatreya night frog (''Nyctibatrachus dattatreyaensis'') 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 ...

of frog in the family

Nyctibatrachidae Nyctibatrachidae is a small family of frogs found in the Western Ghats of India and in Sri Lanka. Their common name is robust frogs. Recognition of Nyctibatrachidae as a family is fairly recent. These frogs were earlier on placed in the broadly ...

first described in the Shola forests around the Dattatreya Peeta in the

Chikkamagaluru district Chikmagalur, officially Chikkamagaluru is an administrative district in the Malnad subregion of Karnataka, India. Coffee was first cultivated in India in Chikmagalur. The hills of Chikmagalur are parts of the Western Ghauts and the source of ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. It is still known only from this part of the Western Ghats, India.

Description

This species' head is wider than long; the skin on the dorsum is highly wrinkled with transverse corrugated folds - three discontinuous longitudinal folds, one dorsolaterally and two laterally; the webbing on toes is medium (three-quarters of the length); two yellowish bands occur on the dorsolateral area, prominent from subadult to adult stage; femoral glands are present. ''N. dattatreyaensis'' is a medium-sized (about 40 mm) frog active during night. The thumb pad and femoral glands are prominent in mature males. The 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.

Discovery

The frog was discovered in 2008 by scientists from

Zoological Survey of India The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), founded on 1 July 1916 by Government of India Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, as premier Indian organisation in zoological research and studies to promote the survey, exploration and r ...

. It was named ''Nyctibatrachus dattatreyaensis'', after the Dattatreya shrine in its habitat.

Distribution

''Nyctibatrachus dattatreyaensis'' is only known only from Dattatreya Peeta in the Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary,

Kemmangundi Kemmannugundi (Red Soil Pit) is a hill station in Tarikere taluk of Chikkamagaluru district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is at the elevation of 1434m above sea level, with its peak at 1863m. This was the summer retreat of Krishnaraja ...

, and Baba Budangiri. All these sites are located in the

, India.

Conservation status and risks

The Chandra Drona Parvatha hill ranges are noted for medicinal herbs. Unauthorised collection of herbs is rampant. The area is under immense human pressure from ecotourism. The water source of the Manikyadhara Falls is endangered. Consequently, ''Nyctibatrachus dattatreyaensis'' is assessed as being " critically endangered".

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3346620 Nyctibatrachus Frogs of India Endemic fauna of the Western Ghats Amphibians described in 2008