Assessment Results
Minervarya sahyadris
Minevarya Frog
Order:
Anura
Family:
Dicroglossidae
Synonym(s):
Fejervarya sahyadris
Assessed for:
India
on:
21 Sep 2020
by:
AArk/ASG India Assessment Workshop
Authors:
N.A. Aravind, Nikhil Danddekar, Sandeep Das, Akshay Gawade, Priti Hebbar, Dr. Trupti Jadhav, Gururaja KV, Nikhil Modak, Seshadri KS and Karthikeyan Vasudevan
IUCN Global Red List:
Endangered (EN)
National Red List:
(not assessed)
Distribution:
India
Evolutionary Distinctiveness score:
17.26166062
Recommended Conservation Actions:
Additional Comments:
| Question # | Short Name | Question Text | Response | Comments |
| 1 | Extinction risk | Current IUCN Red List category. [Data obtained from the IUCN Red List.] | Endangered (EN) | |
| 2 | Possibly extinct | Is there a strong possibility that this species might be extinct in the wild? | No / unlikely | |
| 3 | Phylogenetic significance | The taxon’s Evolutionary Distinctiveness (ED) score, as generated by the ZSL EDGE program. (These data are not editable by Assessors). | ED value < 20 | |
| 4 | Protected habitat | Is a population of at least 50% of the individuals of the taxon included within a well-managed or reliably protected area or areas? | No / unlikely | This species was previously only known from Gundia in Karnataka, and Calicut and adjoining areas in Kerala, in the southern Western Ghats of India. It is now also present in Mangalore (Bajipe, Kadri, Padil), Bhatkal, Talagini, Karnoor, and Aralam (Kuramoto et al. 2007), Bhadra Tiger Reserve (Dinesh and Radhakrishnan 2008), Sirsi-Honnavara (Kumara et al. 2008) and Kathalekan hamlet, Siddapur taluk, in Uttara Kannada District (Chandran et al 2009), Jog, Kadatoka in Uttara Kannada District (Hegde 2012) Mangalore Taluk in Dakshina Kannada District (Nair and Kumar 2013). It has also been found in Agumbe, Karnataka (Ben Tapley, pers. comm. October 2020) and Udupi (N.A. Aravind, pers. comm. October 2020). It has also been found in Balussery in Calicut District, Madayippara in Kannur District, laterite hills of Kasargod District, and Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (Sandeep Das, pers. comm. October 2020). It has been found in Sangameshwar in the Ratnagiri district, in Devgad, Kankavli and Kudal in the Sindhudurg district, and in Alibaug in the Raigad district (Akshay Gawade, pers. comm. October 2020). The species has also been recorded within traditionally-protected areas (Akshay Gawade, pers. comm. October 2020). It is likely to occur between known localities, but will be restricted to Kerala and Karnatak States (India RLA/CNA workshop, September 2020). The altitudinal range of this lowland species is between 40 and 1,000 m asl. |
| 5 | Habitat for reintroduction, conservation translocation or supplementation | Does enough well-managed and reliably protected habitat exist, either within or outside of currently protected areas that is suitable for conservation translocation, including population restoration or conservation introduction? | Yes / probably | |
| 6 | Previous reintroductions | Have reintroduction or translocation attempts been made in the past for this species? | No | |
| 7 | In situ conservation activities | Are any in situ conservation actions currently in place for this species? (Only required if a Red List Assessment has not been completed, or if new actions have been implemented since the last Red List Assessment. (Information from the Conservation Actions section of the Red List assessment should be reviewed and considered when answering this question.). | Yes / probably | It is present in a number of protected areas, including Bhadra Tiger Reserve (Dinesh and Radhakrishnan 2008), Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary and Kudremukh National Park, and is protected by national legislation. |
| 8 | In situ conservation activities | Are additional in situ conservation actions required to help conserve this species in the wild (e.g. habitat restoration and/or protection, control of invasive species, national legislation etc.)? | Unknown | |
| 9 | In situ research | Is additional in situ research required to better understand the species, e.g. distribution, population trends, natural history etc.? | Yes | Further research is required to investigate the effect of Bd, climate change and effect of pesticides, distribution, natural history and ecology. |
| 10 | Threat mitigation | Are the threats facing the taxon, including any new and emerging threats not considered in the IUCN Red List, potentially reversible? | Species does not require conservation action at this time | It will survive in disturbed habitat, in abandoned quarries, grassy areas adjacent to paddy fields. It can adapt to any modified habitat, although removal of habitat would be a major threat. While this species is fairly adaptable, habitat loss and degradation as a result of the expansion of commercial, intensive agriculture is a major threat to the species if it continues to intensify (India RLA/CNA workshop, September 2020). Pesticide use is a major problem and deformities have been reported for this species (Gurushankara et al. 2007). Prawn farming is a problem for this species. Road widening is also a problem for this species and will affect the availability of breeding sites if this increases. Urbanisation along the coastal region may also be problem for this species. Road mortalities have been observed as a minor, localised threat (Akshay Gawade, pers. comm. October 2020). Climate change is a potential future threat and may cause changes in breeding biology due to changes in monsoon season, habitat shifting and the rise in sea levels (India RLA/CNA workshop, September 2020). Bd is possibly a threat to this species, as it is known to affect Dicroglossids and has been confirmed within this species range but further studies are required. Deformities in this species have been seen in a range of habitats, thought the be a result of agricultural pesticides, although this needs to be confirmed. |
| 11 | Over-collection from the wild | Is the taxon suffering from collection within its natural range, either for food, for the pet trade or for any other reason, which threatens the species’ continued persistence in the wild? | No / unlikely | |
| 12 | Population recovery | Is the known population of this species in the wild large enough to recover naturally, without ex situ intervention if threats are mitigated? | Yes / probably | It is common where it occurs. It is very common in low-lying plains (Sandeep Das, pers. comm. October 2020). |
| 13 | Action plans | Does an Action Plan for the species already exist, or is one currently being developed? | No | |
| 14 | Biological distinctiveness | Does the taxon exhibit a distinctive reproductive mode, behaviour, aspect of morphology or physiology, within the Order to which it belongs (e.g. Anura, Passeriformes etc.)? | No aspect of biology known to be exceptional | This is one of the smaller species in India. |
| 15 | Cultural/socio-economic importance | Does the taxon have a special human cultural value (e.g. as a national or regional symbol, in a historic context, featuring in traditional stories) or economic value (e.g. food, traditional medicine, tourism) within its natural range or in a wider global context? | No | |
| 16 | Scientific importance | Is the species vital to current or planned research other than species-specific ecology/biology/conservation within the Order to which it belongs (e.g. Anura, Passeriformes etc.) e.g. human medicine, climate change, environmental pollutants and conservation science? | No research dependent on this species | |
| 17 | Ex situ research | Does conserving this species (or closely related species) in situ depend upon research that can be most easily carried out ex situ? | No | |
| 18 | Ex situ conservation activities | Is any ex situ research or other ex situ conservation action currently in place for this species? (Information from the Conservation Actions section of the Red List assessment should be reviewed and considered when answering this question.) | No / unlikely | |
| 19 | Husbandry analog required | If an ex situ rescue program is recommended for this species, would an analog species be required to develop husbandry protocols first? | No / unlikely | |
| 20 | Husbandry analog | Do the biological and ecological attributes of this species make it suitable for developing husbandry regimes for more threatened related species? i.e. could this species be used in captivity to help to develop husbandry and breeding protocols which could be used for a similar, but more endangered species at a later stage? | Yes | This would make a good husbandry analog for more threatened Minervarya species (Gururaja KV, pers. comm. August 2020). |
| 21 | Captive breeding | Has this species been successfully bred and/or maintained in captivity? | Not held in captivity to date | |
| 22 | Conservation education/ecotourism potential | Is the species especially diurnal, active or colourful, or is there an interesting or unusual aspect of its ecology that make it particularly suitable to be an educational ambassador for conservation of the species in the range country, either in zoos or aquariums or within ecotourism activities? | Yes | Potential flagship ranking: 2 (conservation practitioner), (Kanagavel et al. 2017). The species is named after the Western Ghats and is commonly found (Gururaja KV, pers. comm. August 2020). |
| 23 | Mandate | Is there an existing conservation mandate recommending the ex situ conservation of this taxon? | No | |
| 24 | Range State approval | If an ex situ initiative was proposed for this species, would it be supported (and approved) by the range State (either within the range State or out-of-country ex situ)? | Yes / probably | |
| 25 | Founder specimens | Are sufficient animals of the taxon available or potentially available (from wild or captive sources) to initiate an ex situ program, if one was recommended? | Yes / probably | |
| 26 | Taxonomic status | Has a complete taxonomic analysis of the species in the wild been carried out, to fully understand the functional unit you wish to conserve (i.e. have species limits been determined)? | Yes |
Citation:
N.A. Aravind, Nikhil Danddekar, Sandeep Das, Akshay Gawade, Priti Hebbar, Dr. Trupti Jadhav, Gururaja KV, Nikhil Modak, Seshadri KS and Karthikeyan Vasudevan 2020. Conservation Needs Assessment for Minervarya sahyadris, India
(AArk/ASG India Assessment Workshop).
https://conservationneeds.org/assessment/5581
Accessed 14 Mar 2025
