Wildlifeof India
Astrobatrachus kurichiyana
True Frogs, Night Frogs & Allies
Photo: Seenapuram Palaniswamy Vijayakumar, Robert Alexander Pyron, K. P. Dinesh, Varun R. Torsekar, Achyuthan N. Srikanthan, Priyanka Swamy, Edward L. Stanley, David C. Blackburn, Kartik Shanker · CC BY-SA 4.0 (May be cropped or resized)
Astrobatrachus kurichiyana
Basic stats
Habitat
Shola cloud forest; refugia habitats
Range
Endemic to the Western Ghats; Wayanad Plateau
Astrobatrachus kurichiyana, the starry dwarf frog, is the only species of the genus Astrobatrachus and the only member of the subfamily Astrobatrachinae, endemic to the Western Ghats. It was discovered in the shola cloud forests of the Wayanad Plateau and is considered a relict species because of its very small range, restricted to certain refugia habitats (Wikipedia, general species account, genus page).
It is genetically very different from both Nyctibatrachus and Lankanectes, with their last common sister species thought to have lived several million years ago. It can be recognised by its brown colouring with an orange belly and bluish-white spots (Wikipedia, general species account, genus page).
Quick answers
- What habitat does the Astrobatrachus kurichiyana live in?
- Shola cloud forest; refugia habitats
- Where is the Astrobatrachus kurichiyana found?
- Endemic to the Western Ghats; Wayanad Plateau