[Herpetology • 2017] Nasikabatrachus bhupathi • A New Species of the Genus Nasikabatrachus (Anura, Nasikabatrachidae) from the eastern Slopes of the Western Ghats, India

Nasikabatrachus bhupathi 

Janani, Vasudevan, Prendini, Dutta & Aggarwal, 2017 

We describe a new species of the endemic frog genus Nasikabatrachus, from the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats, in India. The new species is morphologically, acoustically and genetically distinct from N. sahyadrensis. Computed tomography scans of both species revealed diagnostic osteological differences, particularly in the vertebral column. Male advertisement call analysis also showed the two species to be distinct. A phenological difference in breeding season exists between the new species (which breeds during the northeast monsoon season; October to December), and its sister species (which breeds during the southwest monsoon; May to August). The new species shows 6 % genetic divergence (K2P) at mitochondrial 16S rRNA (1330 bp) partial gene from its congener, indicating clear differentiation within Nasikabatrachus. Speciation within this fossorial lineage is hypothesized to have been caused by phenological shift in breeding during different monsoon seasons—the northeast monsoon in the new species versus southwest monsoon in N. sahyadrensis. It is postulated that proximate triggers of breeding behavior and highly stenotopic adaptation of Nasikabatrachus tadpoles to inhabit cascades during monsoonal stream flows, have led to allopatry on the eastern and western slopes of the Western Ghats, thereby promoting speciation in this ancient genus.

Figure 3. Holotype of Nasikabatrachus bhupathi. (a) dorsolateral view; (b) anterior view of head showing fleshy protuberance on the snout; (c) underside of foot, showing hypertrophied shovel-shaped inner metatarsal tubercle; (d) underside of hand showing palmar tubercles.

amphibiaweb.org

Nasikabatrachus bhupathi sp. nov.

Etymology: The species epithet commemorates Dr. S. Bhupathy, a noted scientist and a field herpetologist, who passed away due to an ill-fated accident while conducting herpetological surveys in Agasthyamalai, Western Ghats on April 28, 2014.

Figure 10. External morphology of tadpoles of Nasikabatrachus bhupathi.
 (a) dorsal view; (b) ventral view at stage 36, with developing hind limbs, vent tube still present; (c) dorsal view at stage 41, with completely developed hind limbs and visible forelimb bud; (d) dorsal view at stage 42, with both forelimbs erupted; (e) ventral view at stage 42, where one of the forelimbs had erupted completely and the other is yet to erupt, absence of vent tube; (f) dorsal view at stage 43, with transforming snout; (gci) stage 44¢45, showing ventral and dorsal side, transforming oral disc and tail stub; (j) developed imago showing pigmentation pattern of brown and black mottles.

   

S. Jegath Janani, Karthikeyan Vasudevan, Elizabeth Prendini, Sushil Kumar Dutta and Ramesh K. Aggarwal. 2017. A New Species of the Genus Nasikabatrachus (Anura, Nasikabatrachidae) from the eastern Slopes of the Western Ghats, India. Alytes. 34: 1-19.

 amphibiaweb.org/refs/pdfs/Nasikabatrachus_Alytes-34-1-19.pdf

ResearchGate.net/publication/319203867_A_new_species_of_the_genus_Nasikabatrachus_Anura_Nasikabatrachidae_from_the_eastern_slopes_of_the_Western_Ghats_India

New Purple Pig-Nose Frog Found in Remote Mountains
on.natgeo.com/2wBx1eA via @NatGeo

[Herpetology • 2016] From Clinging to Digging: The Postembryonic Skeletal Ontogeny of the Indian Purple Frog, Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis (Anura: Nasikabatrachidae)

Young metamorphs of the Indian Purple frog Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis, ready to dig and follow their parents underground. 

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0151114 

Abstract

The Indian Purple frog, Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis, occupies a basal phylogenetic position among neobatrachian anurans and has a very unusual life history. Tadpoles have a large ventral oral sucker, which they use to cling to rocks in torrents, whereas metamorphs possess adaptations for life underground. The developmental changes that underlie these shifts in habits and habitats, and especially the internal remodeling of the cranial and postcranial skeleton, are unknown. Using a nearly complete metamorphic series from free-living larva to metamorph, we describe the postembryonic skeletal ontogeny of this ancient and unique monotypic lineage. The torrent-dwelling larva possesses a dorsoventrally flattened body and a head with tiny dorsal eyes, robust lower and upper jaw cartilages, well-developed trabecular horns, and a definable gap between the trabecular horns and the tip of the snout. Unlike tadpoles of many other frogs, those of Nasikabatrachus retain larval mouthparts into late metamorphic stages. This unusual feature enables the larvae to maintain their clinging habit until near the end of metamorphosis. The subsequent ontogenetic shift from clinging to digging is correlated with rapid morphological changes and behavioral modifications. Metamorphs are equipped with a shortened tibiafibula and ossified prehallical elements, which likely facilitate initial digging using the hind limbs. Subsequently, the frogs may shift to headfirst burrowing by using the wedge-shaped skull, anteriorly positioned pectoral girdle, well-developed humeral crests and spatula-shaped forelimbs. The transition from an aquatic life in torrents to a terrestrial life underground entails dramatic changes in skeletal morphology and function that represent an extreme in metamorphic remodeling. Our analysis enhances the scope for detailed comparative studies across anurans, a group renowned for the diversity of its life history strategies.

Rapid metamorphic remodeling associated with the development of Indian Purple frog Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis tadpoles.

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0151114

Gayani Senevirathne, Ashish Thomas, Ryan Kerney, James Hanken, S. D. Biju and Madhava Meegaskumbura. 2016. From Clinging to Digging: The Postembryonic Skeletal Ontogeny of the Indian Purple Frog, Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis (Anura: Nasikabatrachidae).  PLoS ONE. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0151114

Rapid transformation turns clinging tadpoles into digging adult frogs
  http://phy.so/378559068 via @physorg_com

[Herpetology • 2014] Vocal Behavior of the Elusive Purple Frog of India (Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis), a Fossorial Species Endemic to the Western Ghats

Figure 1. Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis calling.
Dorsolateral (a) and frontal (b) views of a calling male that was removed from under the soil at the entrance of the tunnel from which it had been calling. The male was induced to call above ground after brief exposure to a female. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0084809.g001

Abstract

Quantitative descriptions of animal vocalizations can inform an understanding of their evolutionary functions, the mechanisms for their production and perception, and their potential utility in taxonomy, population monitoring, and conservation. The goal of this study was to provide the first acoustical and statistical analysis of the advertisement calls of Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis. Commonly known as the Indian purple frog, N. sahyadrensis is an endangered species endemic to the Western Ghats of India. As the only known species in its family (Nasikabatrachidae), it has ancient evolutionary ties to frogs restricted to the Seychelles archipelago (Sooglossidae). The role of vocalizations in the behavior of this unique species poses interesting questions, as the animal is fossorial and potentially earless and it breeds explosively above the soil for only about two weeks a year. In this study, we quantified 19 acoustic properties of 208 calls recorded from 10 males. Vocalizations were organized into distinct call groups typically composed of two to six short (59 ms), pulsatile calls, each consisting of about five to seven pulses produced at a rate of about 106 pulses/s. The frequency content of the call consisted of a single dominant peak between 1200–1300 Hz and there was no frequency modulation. The patterns of variation within and among individuals were typical of those seen in other frogs. Few of the properties we measured were related to temperature, body size, or condition, though there was little variation in temperature. Field observations and recordings of captive individuals indicated that males engaged in both antiphonal calling and call overlap with nearby calling neighbors. We discuss our findings in relation to previous work on vocal behavior in other fossorial frogs and in sooglossid frogs.

Thomas A, Suyesh R, Biju SD, Bee MA. 2014. Vocal Behavior of the Elusive Purple Frog of India (Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis), a Fossorial Species Endemic to the Western Ghats. PLoS ONE. 9(2): e84809. DOI:  10.1371/journal.pone.0084809

http://www.sciencespacerobots.com/listen-to-the-calls-of-the-elusive-purple-frog-21420145

Frog of India • 15 Endemic Amphibian Genera of India

Frog of India

15 Endemic Amphibian Genera of India

1. Micrixalus (Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka)

2. Pterorana (Nagaland)

3. Indirana (Western Ghats)

4. Melanobatrachus indicus 

5. Nasikabatrachus (Kerala and Tamil Nadu)

6. Ghatixalus (Kerala & Tamil Nadu)

7. Minervarya 

8. Nyctibatrachus (Western Ghats) 

9. Xanthophryne (Maharashtra)

10. Xanthophryne (Maharashtra)

11. Ghatophryne 

12. Chikilila 

13. Indotyphlus 

14. Uraeotyphlus (Kerala and Tamil Nadu)

15. Gegeneophis

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[Herpetology • 2003] Nasikabatrachus – Nasika - nose; brachus - frog • New frog family from Western Ghats of India, reveals an ancient biogeographical link with the Seychelles

Nasikabatrachus

– Nasika - nose; Brachus - frog

• New frog family from Western Ghats of India

New frog family from India reveals an ancient biogeographical link with the Seychelles

About 96% of the more than 4,800 living anuran species belong to the Neobatrachia or advanced frogs. Because of the extremely poor representation of these animals in the Mesozoic fossil record, hypotheses on their early evolution have to rely largely on extant taxa. Here we report the discovery of a burrowing frog from India that is noticeably distinct from known taxa in all anuran families. Phylogenetic analyses of 2.8 kilobases of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA unambiguously designate this frog as the sister taxon of Sooglossidae, a family exclusively occurring on two granitic islands of the Seychelles archipelago. Furthermore, molecular clock analyses uncover the branch leading to both taxa as an ancient split in the crown-group Neobatrachia. Our discovery discloses a lineage that may have been more diverse on Indo-Madagascar in the Cretaceous period, but now only comprises four species on the Seychelles and a sole survivor in India. Because of its very distinct morphology and an inferred origin that is earlier than several neobatrachian families, we recognize this frog as a new family.

Amphibia Linneaus, 1758

Lissamphibia Haeckel, 1866

Anura Rafinesque, 1815

Neobatrachia Reig, 1958

Nasikabatrachidae fam. nov.

Nasikabatrachus gen. nov.

Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis gen. et sp. nov.

Etymology: Nasika (Sanskrit) meaning nose, batrachus meaning frog, and Sahyadri, being synonymous for the Western Ghats (the hills along the west coast of the Indian subcontinent).

Biju, S.D. & F. Bossuyt, 2003 - New frog family from India reveals an ancient biogeographical link with the Seychelles. Nature. 425: 711 - 714.: http://www.amphibia.be/pubs/Nature_2003.pdf

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