Meet The Purple Frog, A Dinosaur-Era “Living Fossil” That Emerged Over 80 Million Years Ago

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It's because it originated from an ancient lineage that was living back when dinosaurs were still roaming the Earth.

It took until 2003 for the species to be officially identified in the Western Ghats Mountains. Remarkably, genetic testing showed that its closest relative lives in the Seychelles, a location that is about 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) to the south of its native India, with the two species diverging sometime between 251 and 65 million years ago during the Mesozoic era.

The Purple Frog

It's truly remarkable that an animal can spend such a significant amount of time underground with how little we know about it.

Patrick Evans

The Earth's continents were transformed into the sprawling puzzle we see today. The Seychelles are to the east of the African continent, whereas India is found on the Asian continent, and it was featured in a Recent Series of the same name.

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What really caught my attention about the purple frog is just how extraordinary it is that an animal can spend so much time underground with so little known about it, and it looks so unusual compared to most other frogs.

Underground Purple Frogs Party the Night Away

They have proved to be challenging subjects in the realm of scientific research.

The frogs have apparently learned a method of passing under low branches to remove toads by scraping against them.

Patrick Evans

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He had spent several years observing the areas where the frogs had appeared or were known to appear, and he would ultimately be there the evening the frogs emerged.

If there was just the right amount of rain, you might see frogs come out. We had spent a lot of time out in the field, waiting and hoping it would rain just enough.”

Purple Frog Reproduction

It took the researchers two years to get the timing just right, but they were able to document the grueling process of a purple frog's reproduction. Well, it's grueling for the female, at least. She emerges from the mud with a belly full of eggs, and with a much smaller male clinging to her back, she makes her way upstream to find a safe spot to leave her fertilized eggs to develop. However, sometimes she picks up an unwanted hitchhiker along the way.

We have no concept of what their lives must be like beneath the ground.

Patrick Evans

They are famous among these animals. So, they become acquainted, and the frogs indeed have this technique for walking under low hanging branches to remove the toads.]

A nuisance for a female purple frog who has to do most of the heavy lifting during a brief breeding season, but a remarkable adaptation that provides insight into the elusive habits of these underground dwellers.

I believe this species has much more to reveal," said Evans. "We currently lack knowledge about their lives beneath the ground, and it's an area that remains unexplored and undocumented.

There is justice in the right amount and the risk of stepping into the unknown. What an enigma.

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