In news–Mahabali Frog is waiting to be elevated as the State Frog of Kerala.
About the Mahabali frog-
- Mahabali frog, also known as the purple frog is one of the rarest frog species endemic to the Western Ghats.
- The frog (Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis) was named after the mythical King Mahabali, who visits his people once a year from the underneath world.
- The species, also known as pignose frog stands out with its evolutionarily distinct and globally endangered status on IUCN ilst.
- It emerges from under the ground for only one day( to lay eggs), like Kerala’s mythological King Mahabali who was banished to the underworld and given permission to meet his subjects in Kerala during Thiruvonam day of Malayalam month of Chingam.
- According to WWF, purple frog has been acknowledged by bio-geographers all over the world as one of the rarest kinds and a “once in a century find.”
- It said the purple frog has a bloated body with short stout limbs and is dark purple to greyish in colour.
- Reaching to about 7 centimetres, it has a small head in comparison to the body length, and an unusually pointed snout.
- Its short and muscular forelimbs with hard palms help it to burrow underground.
- Unlike other frogs, it has very short hind legs, which does not allow it to leap from one spot to another. As a result, it covers any distance with long strides.
- It depends more on its sense of smell to hunt out soil termites.
- Underground purple frog was recommended as a strong candidate for the state amphibian as it was easy to recognise.
Source: The Hindu
