''Nasikabatrachus'' is a genus of frogs. It is presently treated as the only genus in the family Nasikabatrachidae, though previously it was included in the family

Sooglossidae Sooglossidae, the Seychelles frogs or Seychelles Island frogs, are a family of frogs found on the Seychelles Islands. Until recently, this family was believed to include the genera '' Sechellophryne'', '' Nesomantis'' and '' Sooglossus'', but fo ...

. Two species are recognized, ''

Nasikabatrachus bhupathi ''Nasikabatrachus bhupathi'', or Bhupathy's purple frog, is a frog species belonging to the family Nasikabatrachidae. It can be found in the Western Ghats in India and was discovered near the Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary, Srivilliputhur ...

'' and '' Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis'', both

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to southwestern

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Both Nasikabatrachidae and Sooglossidae are thought to be the only extant families of the superfamily

Sooglossoidea Sooglossoidea is a superfamily of frogs. It contains only two highly divergent families consisting of three genera with two species each, one family being found in southwestern India and the other in the Seychelles. Taxonomy The Sooglossoidea ...

. With its closest relatives in the

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...

, ''Nasikabatrachus'' is thought to have evolved separately since the end of the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

. Its discovery added to the evidence that

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

and the Seychelles separated from the

n landmass sometime well after the breakup of

Gondwana Gondwana ( ; ) was a large landmass, sometimes referred to as a supercontinent. The remnants of Gondwana make up around two-thirds of today's continental area, including South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia (continent), Australia, Zea ...

had started.

Reproduction

The purple frog is an explosive seasonal breeder species which completes its development in ephemeral streams. Its breeding activities typically take place during the months of April and May, which is during the pre-monsoon shower.

References

Taxa named by Sathyabhama Das Biju Amphibian genera Nasikabatrachidae {{Neobatrachia-stub