HYDERABAD — Researchers from Hyderabad are playing a vital role in the urgent conservation effort for the Bhupathy’s Purple Frog (Nasikbatrachus bhupati), a critically endangered and ancient species of amphibian found in the Western Ghats. Often called the ‘Jewel of Gondwana’, this frog dates back 80 million years to the time the supercontinent broke apart.
Tracking the Elusive, Critically Endangered Species
The Bhupathy’s Purple Frog is one of the most mysterious amphibians, as it spends virtually its entire life deep underground, emerging only to breed during the first heavy rains. It was only formally identified in 2017 by a team from the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad.
Led by herpetologist Dr. Kartikeyan Vasudevan, a senior scientist at CCMB, the conservation teams are currently focused on tracking, estimating the population, and developing a strategy to save the species, which is highly vulnerable due to its tiny endemic range.
• Scientific Discovery: The CCMB team performed crucial genetic barcoding and detailed acoustic analysis that confirmed the species was distinct, noting its unique four-pulse mating call different from its relative, the Indian Purple Frog.
• Threats: The species is classified as Critically Endangered due to rapid habitat degradation caused by pollution, water extraction, and habitat loss in its small endemic range.
Bioacoustics Key to Conservation Strategy
Because the purple frog is a burrowing (fossorial) species, tracking its numbers is extremely challenging. Dr. Vasudevan’s team is primarily relying on bioacoustics, using specialized recording equipment to listen for the males’ mating calls that rise from beneath the soil of the remote streams.
The acoustic data collected from the Western Ghats is then processed and analyzed by the scientists and their teams in Hyderabad, forming the scientific foundation for their conservation strategy. Furthermore, the CCMB experts are training local wildlife officials and forest staff in the Western Ghats to recognize the crucial breeding habitats—usually fast-flowing rocky streams—and utilize acoustic methods for population monitoring.