Purple Frog Facts

Its a "living fossil". Purple frog was found in a 'biodiversity hotspot', in the mountains of southern India. It is bloated and purple and has very tiny eyes.

Common names for this species are Purple Frog, Indian Purple Frog, Pignose Frog or Doughnut Frog. It was discovered by S.D. Biju and F. Bossyut in October 2003 and was found to be unique for the geographic region.

The scientific name (Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis) derives from the Sanskrit word nasika (nose) referring to the pointed snout, batrachus Greek for frog, and Sahyadri as the local name of the mountain range where it was found - the Western Ghats.

The Hindu : States / Kerala : New amphibian discovered

A team of researchers including from the Zoological Survey of India, Western Ghat Regional Centre, Kozhikode has discovered a new species of limbless amphibian from Western Ghats, additional director of ZSI centre Kozhikode, C. Radhakrishnan told The Hindu here on Monday.

The new species, Ichthyophis davidi, a yellow striped caecilian according to him, has been discovered from the Belgaum district of Karnataka, which is part of the Western Ghat.

The new species Ichthyophis davidi is one of the largest known yellow striped caecilians from Western Ghats and is named in honour of David Gower, Department of Zoology, The Natural History Museum, London, in recognition of his contributions to Indian caecilian studies, he said.

According to him, it has been systematically placed under the genus Ichthyophis of the Ichthyophiidae family. The members of the genus Ichthyophis include both striped and non-striped caecilians. These animals are nocturnal and are found in forests and plantations.

Western Ghats, one of the global biodiversity ‘hot spots’, support 25 species of legless amphibians (the caecilians). Among the 25 species, only 5 are yellow striped forms, which are limited in distribution. He said that the members of the team had also discovered a few other new species of amphibians from the region earlier.

Habitat destruction, due to human interference, and usage of chemical fertilizers in the plantations (areca, banana and cardamom) according to him is limiting the distribution of these limbless amphibians in Western Ghats. Conservation of the forested patches adjacent to plantations and usage of organic manure in the plantations next to forested patches are the best means to safe protect the caecilians in Western Ghats, he said.

Gopalakrishna Bhatta of the Department of Biology, BASE Educational Services Pvt. Ltd, Bengaluru; P. Prashanth of Agumbe Rainforest Research Station, Agumbe, Nirmal U. Kulkarni of Mhadei Research Centre, Belgaum and K.P. Dinesh of ZSI regional centre Kozhikode are the researchers behind the discovery besides Dr. Radhakrishnan. The discovery has been published in the latest issue of Current Science, he said.

Resources :The Hindu : States / Kerala : New amphibian discovered

The Chinese Giant Salamander Facts

The Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus) is the largest amphibian in the world. It reaches a maximun length of 1.8 metres. The Chinese salamander has a broad head and mouth, wrinkly skin and is usually dark coloured with light colours underneath and black patches on its upper side.The Chinese giant salamander feeds on insects, frogs, and fish. It has very poor eyesight, and therefore depends on special sensory nodes that run in a line on the creature's body, from head to tail. The giant salamader is known to vocalize, making barking, whining, hissing, or crying sounds.Some of these vocalizations bear a striking resemblance to the crying of a young human child, and as such it is known in the Chinese language as "infant fish"  it is considered critically endangered due to habitat loss, pollution, and over-collecting, as it is considered a delicacy and used in traditional Chinese medicine.

Beddome's Toad Facts - Amazing Facts

Beddome's Toad (Bufo beddomii) is a species of toad found in the Western Ghats of India. Beddome's Toad measures 1.75 inches from snout to vent. It is brown with indistinct black spots and limbs marbled with carmine. Its skin is covered with sharp warts , and it too is a rare toad about which very little information is available .

Echidna or Spiny Anteater Facts

The Echidna also known as the Spiny Anteater is a primitive oviparous{egg-laying} mammal that lives in Australia and New Guinea. Echidnas and the platypus are the only egg-laying mammals, known as monotremes. Echidnas are small, solitary mammals covered with coarse hair and spines.

The echidna lives for over 50 years in captivity. They have snouts which have the functions of both mouth and nose. When attacked, the echidna will quickly burrow in the ground or curl up in a ball. Contrary to previous research, the echidna does enter REM(rapid eye movement) sleep, Despite its being only when the ambient temperature is around 77°F . At temperatures of 59°F and 82°F, REM sleep is suppressed.

Damselfish Facts

Damselfish are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Osteichthyes, order Perciformes, family Pomacentridae. Damselfish belong to the Pomacentridae family. Aquarists often use Damselfish to biologically stabilize a new aquarium. Damselfish are found throughout the world, and are almost always associated with coral reefs. Males of this family guard the eggs passionately. Damselfish are closely related to Clownfish.  The average size of most Damsels in an aquarium is around two inches, but in the wild the largest member of this family reaches over 14 inches in length. 

African Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus moquini)

Oystercatchers are shorebirds that live on temperate and tropical coasts around the world, occuring on every continent except Antarctica. There are 13 species worldwide , nine of which occur in southern hemisphere. They are large and noisy plover-like birds, with massive long orange or red bills used for smashing or prying open molluscs.Both male and female are similar in appearance, however, females have a slightly longer beak than males.  One species of oystercatcher became extinct during the 20th century, the Canarian Oystercatcher. Another species, the Chatham Oystercatcher, which is endemic to the Chatham Islands of New Zealand, is listed as endangered by the IUCN, and the African Oystercatcher is considered near threatened.

Basking Shark / Cetorhinus maximus Facts

The basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) is a huge filter feeding shark which grows to be up to about 33 feet long. It is the second largest shark after the whale shark . The basking shark is also called the sunfish, the bone shark, the elephant shark, the sailfish shark, and the big mouth shark.After closing its mouth, the shark uses gill rakers that filter the nourishment from the water. Gill rakers are bristly structures in the shark's mouth that trap the small organisms which the shark then swallows. The water is expelled through the shark's 5 pairs of gill slits. It has long been a commercially important fish, as a source of food, shark fin, animal feed, and shark liver oil. Over-exploitation has reduced its populations to the point that some have apparently disappeared and others need protection.

Aye-aye Facts - Amazing Facts

The Aye-aye is a mammal that lives in rain forests of Madagascar, a large island off the southeast coast of Africa.  During the day, the Aye-aye sleeps in a nest which is located in the fork of a tree. It builds the nest out of leaves and twigs. The Aye-aye is an endangered species. The scientific name of the Aye-aye is Daubentonia madagascariensis  is a lemur, a strepsirrhine primate native to Madagascar that combines rodent-like teeth. Aye-ayes are primates, mammals closely related to monkeys, apes, and people.

The Aye-aye has large eyes, black hair, big ears, and a long, bushy tail. The Aye-aye eats insects, insect , larvae, nectar, seeds, fungi and fruit . Aye-ayes are like a mammalian version of the woodpecker. Superstitions around the aye-aye may have developed because it is apparently unafraid of humans. It will even walk right up to human passersby to take a closer look. The aye-aye's reputation is, of course, entirely unfounded. However, because of the way the aye-aye is perceived, this perfectly harmless creature is often killed on sight.

Beluga Whale - Amazing Facts

The Beluga Whale  or white whale (Delphinapterus leucas) is an Arctic and sub-Arctic cetacean. Male belugas are larger than females. Belugas have a dorsal ridge, rather than a dorsal fin. The evolutionary preference for a dorsal ridge rather than a fin is believed to be an adaptation to under-ice conditions, or possibly as a way of preserving heat. Belugas can be playful—they may spit at humans or other whales. Unlike most whales, it is capable of swimming backwards.  Belugas are very social animals assembled in pods or social groups of more than 2 - 25 whales. They are slow swimmers who are hunted by killer whales, polar bears, and people. The Beluga uses echolocation to locate the prey. The beluga is listed as near threatened by the IUCN.