Bombay Night Frog

Fascinating facts about the Bombay Night Frog

• A plump 48 mm (1.9 in) frog with forward-facing eyes and vertical slits can hide under rocks in fast-flowing streams. Its flattened fingers and fully webbed toes act like tiny paddles, letting it cling to slick stones.
• Between 200 m and 1,200 m (660-3,940 ft) above sea level, the frog lives in the Western Ghats’ evergreen forests, often clinging to overhanging leaves above roaring mountain streams. It even occupies a large cave near Mahabaleshwar, sharing the space with fruit bats whose droppings feed the insects the frog eats. Such flexibility highlights its ability to exploit both open streams and hidden subterranean habitats.
• During the monsoon months of May to September, a male stakes out a twig over a stream and calls repeatedly, then the female lays a clutch of eggs right on that spot. After fertilization, the male moves only a few centimetres to repeat the process, courting another female without ever grasping her. This is the only known Old World frog where mating occurs without amplexus, reshaping our view of amphibian reproductive strategies.
• Tadpoles hatch from jelly-clad eggs after 12 to 15 days and drop straight into the stream below, where they continue growing in the same fast-flowing water that nurtured their parents.
• Even though locally common, the frog’s fragmented range covers less than 20,000 km² (7,700 sq mi), earning it a Vulnerable status on the IUCN Red List. Deforestation, agriculture, and pollution chip away at its forest streams. This warning underscores how even adaptable species can slip toward extinction when their habitats are piecemeal destroyed.

At a glance

About the Bombay Night Frog

The Bombay night frog, Nyctibatrachus humayuni, is a plump, nocturnal amphibian that roams the mist-cloaked streams of the Western Ghats. Its forward-facing eyes, framed by vertical slits, sit atop a wide head and rounded snout, while short, stout fore-limbs end in flattened fingers tipped with large discs. The hind limbs are longer, the toes fully webbed and also disc-shaped, allowing the 48 mm (1.9 in) frog to cling to slick rocks and overhanging foliage. Its back is a mottled dark grey or brown, the belly a paler grey, and the limbs sometimes bear dark bands; males are distinguished by orange glands on their thighs and lack a vocal sac. This species inhabits fast-flowing, rocky mountain streams at elevations from 200 to 1,200 m (660 to 3,940 ft), preferring dense, evergreen or semi-evergreen forest canopies that drape over the water. It also exploits the unique micro-habitat of a large cave near Mahabaleshwar, where a stream and a carpet of bat droppings support a rich invertebrate community that the frogs feed on. During the monsoon months of May to September, males claim perches on twigs or leaves above the water, emit repetitive calls, and, in a rare deviation from typical Old World frog behaviour, fertilise eggs without amplexus – the female deposits a clutch directly on the male’s calling spot, after which the male moves a few centimetres to repeat the ritual, ensuring each egg batch is placed in a carefully chosen niche. After about two weeks, the jelly-clad tadpoles hatch and tumble into the torrent below, where they continue their development amidst the swirling currents, a life cycle as intricate as the streams they inhabit.

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