A Species Science Almost Missed
The Purple Frog, Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis, was formally described by scientists S.D. Biju and Franky Bossuyt in a 2003 paper published in Nature, making it one of the most significant amphibian discoveries of the century. It had been living in the forests of the Western Ghats for millions of years before anyone in the scientific community documented it. Local residents in Kerala and Tamil Nadu knew of it, but the species had no place in any zoological catalogue. That absence is less a failure of science than a consequence of what this frog does: it stays underground for roughly 46 weeks of the year, emerging only when the pre-monsoon rains arrive.
