Facts
Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis is a very peculiar frog indeed, from its odd appearance to its underground habitat. Here you will find a few more interesting facts about this unique creature.
Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis has been a well known medicinal remedy for centuries according to natives of India. The organism is consumed as a remedy for Asthma. The rare frog is sold in markets for a very high price that is hard for most native Indians to afford. An adult female would typically be sold for 1500 rupees or what is equivalent to $27. This may not seem like much but in India this price is typically unaffordable. Many times N. sahyadrensis is stored in a dried out state and is considered a special treasure (Praschag, 2004).
Although Neobatrachia is considered an ancestral crown-group of frogs, there is no good fossil representation of them, making tracking of their evolutionary history more difficult. Any hypotheses made about evolution of this crown-group have been based on extant taxa. Molecular clock analysis and genetic research have classified Nasikabatrachidae (N. sahyadrensis family) as a sister taxa to Sooglossidae with both groups representing an ancient split in the crown-group Neobatrachia (Biju and Bossuyt, 2003). As research continues, there is much debate regarding whether N. sahyadrensis belongs in the Sooglossidae family or whether the new family, Nasikabatrachidae, is valid and should remain a separate family. As new evidence arises the current placement of N. sahyadrensis in the family Nasikabatrachidae may change.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources has classified the N. sahyadrensis as an endangered species with major threats coming from loss of habitat as cultivation by locals threatens their habitat (icunredlist.org).
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