Nyctibatrachidae |  |
37 species in 3 genera
Commonly Called Night Frogs, Fanged Frogs, Wrinkled Frogs, and Water Frogs
Nyctibatrachus vrijeuni
Photo by K.P. Dinesh
(Click for family gallery)This family is known only from the Western Ghats of India and from Sri Lanka. Several studies confirm the monophyly of this ancient clade, which originated in the tropical mountains in India in the mid to late Cretaceous (Van Bocxlaer et al. 2012).
Most species from this family are in the genus Nyctibatrachus, which occur in the Western Ghats of India. Lankanectes occurs in forests of Sri Lanka.
News Highlight
February 27, 2017: The Night Frogs, Nyctibatrachidae, is a small, ranoid family endemic to the Western Ghats in peninsular India. Until now, the moderate-to large-sized species (up to more than 80 mm body size) have been primarily stream-dwelling. Research in the Western Ghats continues to be productive, with new species from several families being announced at regular intervals, and it is widely recognized as an important biodiversity hotspot. Garg et al. (2017) discovered seven new nyctibatrachids, but what is special about this find is the first miniaturized species in the family. Four of these new species, roughly 12 - 15 mm body size, were found in damp forest floor leaf litter and marsh vegetation. Apparently all have a tadpole stage. They have been overlooked in the past because of the small size, insect-like call, secretive habits and different habitat preferences, and they are locally abundant. Nevertheless, these habitats are subject to strong anthropogenic influences. The authors estimate that about one-third of nyctibatrachids are threatened with imminent extinction. (DW)Written by AmphibiaWebNotable Family Characteristics
- Found in wet, marshy habitats or are restricted to rocky torrents in montane and sub-montane evergreen or semi-evergreen forests; Lankanectes may be found in slow-moving streams
- Aquatic
- Some species may use dorsal straddle amplexus as reported in Nyctibatrachus humayuni
- Nyctibatrachus males possess femoral glands and mandibular fangs
- Hidden tympanum, wrinkled skin, longitudinal skin folds on dorsum
- Nocturnal, or presumed to be
- Distribution limited to the Western Ghats of India and Sri Lanka
Cartography Credit: Zoe Yoo, UC Berkeley
Range maps sources: AmphibiaWeb, UC Berkeley, and IUCN RedListRelevant Reference
Biju, S. D., I. Van Bocxlaer, S. Mahony, K. P. Dinesh, C. Radhakrishnan, A. Zachariah, V. B. Giri, and F. Bossuyt. 2011. A taxonomic review of the Night Frog genus Nyctibatrachus Boulenger, 1882 in the Western Ghats, India (Anura: Nyctibatrachidae) with description of twelve new species. Zootaxa 3029: 1–96.
Van Bocxlaer, I., S. D. Biju, B. Willaert, V. B. Giri, Y. S. Shouche, and F. Bossuyt. 2012. Mountain-associated clade endemism in an ancient frog family (Nyctibatrachidae) on the Indian subcontinent. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 62: 839–847.
Subfamily Astrobatrachinae (1 species)
Genus Astrobatrachus (1 species) [subfamily Astrobatrachinae]
Astrobatrachus (Astrobatrachinae) kurichiyana account no photos no sound/video
Subfamily Lankanectinae (2 species)Genus Lankanectes (2 species) [subfamily Lankanectinae]
Lankanectes corrugatus account photos no sound/video Lankanectes pera account no photos no sound/video
Subfamily Nyctibatrachinae (34 species)Genus Nyctibatrachus (34 species) [subfamily Nyctibatrachinae]
Nyctibatrachus acanthodermis no account no photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus aliciae no account no photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus anamallaiensis no account photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus athirappillyensis no account photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus beddomii no account no photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus danieli no account no photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus dattatreyaensis account photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus deccanensis account no photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus gavi account no photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus grandis no account no photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus humayuni account photos sound/video Nyctibatrachus indraneili no account no photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus jog account photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus karnatakaensis account photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus kempholeyensis no account photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus kumbara account photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus major no account photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus manalari no account photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus mewasinghi no account no photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus minimus no account no photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus minor no account no photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus petraeus account photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus poocha no account no photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus pulivijayani no account photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus radcliffei no account no photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus robinmoorei no account photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus sabarimalai no account photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus sanctipalustris no account no photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus shiradi no account no photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus sylvaticus no account photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus tunga no account no photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus vasanthi no account no photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus vrijeuni account photos no sound/video Nyctibatrachus webilla no account no photos no sound/video
Citation: AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web application]. Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb. Available: https://amphibiaweb.org/. (Accessed:AmphibiaWeb's policy on data use.