Question

Nasikabatrachus is___________ discovered from __________
(a)Reptile, Western Ghats
(b) Amphibian, Western Ghats
(c)Fish, Eastern Ghats
(d)Cavernicole, Eastern Ghats

Answer 1

Hint: In 2003, Dr. S.D Biju and Dr.Franky Bossuyt discovered a new species of purple frog from the forests of Kerala. It was named Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis. A second specimen suspected to be a sub-species of Nasikabatrachus was discovered from the Malappuram district of Kerala.

Complete answer:
2003 marked a great achievement to the scientific world, a new species of frog was discovered from the Western ghats. Nasikabatrachus has several peculiar and primitive features, and also it is considered as a living fossil. To assign a proper taxonomic position a new family was created, namely Nasikabatrachidae. This marks the creation of a new family of frogs in 1926. Nasikabatrachus is a subterraneous form. It spends most of the year underground and comes to the surface for nearly two weeks during monsoon season for mating. This kind of lifestyle might be the reason for its anonymity until 2003. It is primarily a leg burrower. It burrows deep in the soil with the help of our limbs. This is accomplished by shuffling its feet with its well-developed metatarsal tubercle.

Additional Information: -Nasikabatrachus is about 7cm long. Its skin is smooth and bluish black with a brown tinge above, and dark grey below. The tips of digits and base of hands are white
- Eye has a light blue border, the iris is orange-colored, and the pupil is black and horizontal.
-Head is broad, the snout is protruding and pointed, nostrils are oval and situated close to the tip of the snout, the tympanum is inconspicuous, the tongue is free terminally and attached basally, limbs are short with poorly webbed fingers.
So, the correct answer is ‘Amphibian, Western Ghats'

Note: -Genetic analysis has revealed that Nasikabatrachus is distantly related to the family Sooglossidae, found in Seychelles.
-Morphologically it is very similar to the balloon frogs such as hemusus and Uperdon.
-However, they differ from them in having horizontal pupils and also in the habit of leg burrowing.