Habitat

 The holotype (specimen obtained for formal observation), an adult female Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis, was originally found in Kattappana, Idukki district, Kerala, Western Ghats, India at 09º 45’ N, 77º 05’ E at an altitude of 900 meters by S. D. Biju and Franky Bossuyt (Biju and Bossuyt, 2003).  With this location as a rainfall western ghatsstarting point, continued research now indicates that N. sahyadrensis is found to exclusively inhabit the Western Ghats of India from Camels Hump Hill range in the north to the northern region of the Agasthyamalai Hills in the southern Western Ghats at an elevation range of 60 to 1100 meters above sea level (Zachariah et al. 2012).  The Western Ghats is a 1600 km long mountain range on the Indian west coast known to have the highest biodiversity on Earth (Praschag, 2004).  Tropical rainforests, with an annual rainfall of 3200mm to 7500mm, cover most of the areas where N. sahyadrensis sightings have been reported (Das, 2006).  The Anamalai Hills of the southern Western Ghats where N. sahyadrensis has been studied typically have two monsoon seasons per year; one from June to August, and another from December to May, with the most recorded rainfall between August and June.  Also, the average temperature of the Anamalai region of the Western Ghats is 19-25ºC (Raj et al. 2011).   The conditions are typical of the tropical rainforest habitat and play a crucial role in accommodating the N. sahyadrensis life style.

 

 The wet soil of the tropical rainforest allows N.Anamalai Hills sahyadrensis to thrive as burrowers, living most of their life underground; thus, they prefer habitats with moist, soft soil that is easy to burrow through.  Their legs, being unmodified for jumping, are of no use for above ground living, making hard, dry ground environments unfavorable.  Also, the immense biodiversity of the Western Ghats provides an environment that houses the small, soil dwelling insects that compose the N. sahyadrensis diet.  Further, the monsoon seasons play a large role in N. sahyadrensis breeding patterns.  The breeding season begins in late May just before the June to August monsoon season begins in the Western Ghats, particularly on days with much rainfall.  The male N. sahyadrensis vocalizes a mating call to the females through the soil during the monsoon season; thus, it is suggested that increased humidity in the soil promotes transmission of sound waves, providing optimal conditions for the mating ritual to begin (Raj et al. 2011).  

 

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