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	Conservation Status (definitions)
IUCN (Red List) Status	Endangered (EN) See threat category on Global Amphibian Assessment web site.
CITES	No CITES Listing
Other International Status	None
National Status	None
Regional Status	None

Description
Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis is a relatively large burrowing frog with a distinct, bloated appearance. Snout-vent length ranges from 52.8 mm to 89.9 mm (Radhakrishnan et al. 2007). The head is small and relatively short in comparison with the rest of the body. The snout ends in a white, knob-like protrusion. The mouth is ventral, with a narrow gape. The upper jaw is rigid while the lower jaw is flexible and flaplike, enabling a grooved aperture to be formed through which the tongue can be protruded. The tongue is basally attached, small and fluted, with a rounded tip. Maxillary teeth are absent. Eyes are small, with a prominent upper eyelid and a lower eyelid consisting of a small skinfold. The tympanum is lacking. Both the forelimbs and hindlimbs are short. Palms are hard with rounded fingertips (but no discs) and barely webbed fingers. Feet have rounded toe tips (no discs) and are 3/4 webbed. Each hindfoot possesses a large, white, shovel-like inner metatarsal tubercle, used for digging. Irises are black, with a rounded, horizontal pupil. This species has smooth, black skin dorsally which fades into gray ventrally (Biju and Bossuyt 2003; Radhakrishnan et al. 2007).

The skeletal structure of N. sahyadrensis is characteristic of a burrowing frog, with well-calcified bones. Due to the species' unique appearance, as well as specific osteological differences, Biju and Bossuyt (2003) placed N. sahyadrensis in a new anuran family, named Nasikabatrachidae. Although some traits are shared with the sister group, Sooglossidae, the authors concluded the lack of toe discs and much larger size, as well as other characters, significantly separate N. sahyadrensis from Sooglossidae (Biju and Bossuyt 2003).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: India

View distribution map using BerkeleyMapper.

Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis appears to be endemic to the Western Ghat Mountains of southern India. This species has been found in disturbed secondary forest located close to a cardamom plantation at Kattappana in the Idukki district of Kerala, at an altitude of around 900 m (Biju and Bossuyt 2003). It has also been found at Sankaran Kudi in the Anamalais, Tamil Nadu; Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary, Pollachi, Tamil Nadu; Murikkassery (near Kothamangalam), Ernakulam district; and the Manimala River at Erumely, Kottayam district (Dutta et al. 2004). Most recently it has been found 3 feet underground, while excavating pits in a cleared area of disturbed forest habitat, on a rubber plantation (Karuvarakundu, Malappuram district, Kerala), at 500 m asl (Radhakrishnan et al. 2007). Two specimens were found at this locality, in subsequent years, during monsoon season (July and August; Radhakrishnan et al. 2007). The habitat consisted of cocoa and coffee plants on the hilltops, and rubber plants on the slopes, with forest loam on the soil surface and red soil underneath, and a barely running stream (Radhakrishnan et al. 2007).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Little has been published about the life history of Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis. Anecdotal reports from plantation workers who have uncovered this frog during excavations in monsoon season suggest that individual frogs are seen in the vicinity of pools, and side pools of streams with increasing water flow, sometimes amplexing (Radhakrishnan et al. 2007). Amplexus is inguinal (Dutta et al. 2004). They are rarely seen but sightings are more likely at the beginning of monsoon season, in July (Radhakrishnan et al. 2007). A captured specimen was reported to be able to dig itself into loose soil within 3-5 minutes. When placed on a pebbled gravel surface within an open, dry streambed, the frog tried to escape with stretching movements (not hopping). The pointed snout is touch-sensitive. In captivity, the frog used its hindlimbs for burrowing, with Radhakrishnan et al. (2007) providing a detailed description of the burrowing process. During five months of captivity, the frog did not emerge from the soil, even at night, although it moved about underneath the soil. Given the hard-knobbed snout and small ventral mouth, this species is likely to be a completely underground feeder specializing in termites (Dutta et al. 2004; Radhakrishnan et al. 2007).

Other frogs with similar lifestyles and morphology include those of the genus Rhinophrynus and Hemisus (Radhakrishnan et al. 2007).

Trends and Threats
This amphibian exists in the Western Ghats region of India, a biodiversity "hotspot." Human encroachment, especially from farming, has reduced the forested area by greater than 90% (Myers et. al 2000). In addition, dam projects in the Western Ghats threaten large portions of this frog's habitat (Dutta et al. 2004).

Relation to Humans
This frog was known to local people before two separate teams of herpetologists reported its discovery (Aggarwal 2004). Plantation workers turn this frog up when excavating trenches during the monsoon period from July to October (Radhakrishnan et al. 2007).

Possible reasons for amphibian decline

Intensified agriculture or grazing
Dams changing river flow and/or covering habitat

Comments
In Sanskrit, nasika means "nose" and batrachus means "frog," while Sahyadri refers to the location where this species is found (the Western Ghats, also known as the Sahyadri Mountains, a low-lying mountain range along the west coast of the Indian subcontinent).

As pointed out by Hedges (2003), most of the anuran families were named in the mid-nineteenth century; the last time the discovery of a new species led to the description of a new family was in 1926 (Frost 2003). Based on a phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial genes, Biju and Bossuyt (2003) suggest that this species, endemic to India, is a sister taxon to the Sooglossidae, a family of frogs endemic to the Seychelles Islands. This has lent support to the idea of a possible land bridge between Africa and India, enabling faunal dispersal. The species Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis is estimated to have originated in the Jurassic, 130-180 million years ago (Biju and Bossuyt 2003; Dutta et al. 2004) which is 50 to 100 million years earlier than any other known frog species in India (Aggarwal 2004), and predating the breakup of the ancient continent Gondwana (Radhakrishnan et al. 2007; Dutta et al. 2004).

References
 

Aggarwal, R. K. (2004). ''Ancient frog could spearhead conservation efforts.'' Nature, 428, 467.  

Biju, S. D. and Bossuyt, F. (2003). ''New frog family from India reveals an ancient biogeographical link with the Seychelles.'' Nature, 425, 711-714.  

Frost, D. R. (2003). ''Amphibian Species of the World: An Online Reference.'' Electronic database available at http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/index.html. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA.  

Hedges, S. B. (2003). ''The coelacanth of frogs.'' Nature, 425, 669-670.  

Myers, N., Mittermeier, R. A., Mittermeier, C. G., Da Fonseca, G. A. B. and Kent, J. (2000). ''Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities.'' Nature, 403, 853-858.  

Radhakrishnan, C., Gopi, K.C., and Palot, M.J. (2007). ''Extension of range of distribution of Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis Biju & Bossuyt (Amphibia: Anura: Nasikabatrachidae) along Western Ghats, with some insights into its bionomics.'' Current Science, 92(2), 213.

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