Tiny Frog Species Discovered

India’s smallest land vertebrate, a 10-millimeter frog, has been discovered in the Western Ghats of Kerala. The picture shows the tiny frog sitting on an Indian 5 rupee coin.


Scientists discovered the tiny frog living under leaf litter and among the roots of ferns in a humid and mountainous rainforest. The species has been named Nyctibatrachus minimus. This frog can be found during the night (hence the common name of the genus - "Nightfrog") and its mating calls can be heard from under the leaf litter during monsoon months, the ideal time for reproduction.