The Purple Frog (Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis)
No you’re not tripping balls, this is a real frog. I’m serious. I know, its like Grimace fucked a frog… ok, nevermind. It was only described by science in 2003. They eat mostly termites, and grow to a snout vent length of ~ 7 cm.
This gorgeous animal is found only in the Western Ghats of Kerala, India. It’s a bit of a taxonomic anomaly, as the only other members of its family (Sooglossidae) are found in the Seychelles off the coast of Africa. It spends most of time in burrows up to 3.7 m underground, but emerges for a few weeks during heavy rains to breed in temporary ponds near streams.
This species is considered endangered by the IUCN, because so few have been found (only 135 so far, only 3 of those female) and there is extensive habitat disturbance for agriculture in its limited range (its only known from 5 sites). It is believed that the population is in decline.
(photo: Karthickbala | Wikipedia)
