The Purple Frog
In the Western Ghats lives a bloated purple frog that spends almost its whole life underground. Science only described it in 2003.
What was reported
In 2003, scientists S.D. Biju of the University of Delhi and Franky Bossuyt of the Free University of Brussels described a strange new frog from the Western Ghats of Kerala: dark purple, round and bloated, with a small head and a pointed, pig-like snout.
It lives buried several metres underground, feeding on termites with a special tongue, and comes to the surface for only a few weeks a year during the monsoon to breed. Local people knew it, but it had never been described by science.
Explanations offered
The purple frog's closest relatives live in the Seychelles, thousands of kilometres away. Their ancestors split apart more than 100 million years ago, when India broke away from other landmasses, which makes it a living fossil. It is now a symbol of the Western Ghats' hidden wildlife.
- When
- Described by science in 2003
- Where
- Western Ghats, Idukki, Kerala, India
- Witnesses
- Local people; scientists S.D. Biju and Franky Bossuyt
- Status
- Confirmed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.