Assessment Results
Nyctibatrachus aliciae
Alicia's Night Frog, Grandison's Wrinkled Frog
Order:
Anura
Family:
Nyctibatrachidae
Synonym(s):
Nyctibatrachus deveni, Nyctibatrachus periyar
Assessed for:
India
on:
16 Oct 2020
by:
AArk/ASG India Assessment Workshop
Authors:
Sandeep Das, Nikhil Modak, Rajkumar K.P. and Seshadri K.S.
IUCN Global Red List:
Endangered (EN)
National Red List:
(not assessed)
Distribution:
India
Evolutionary Distinctiveness score:
18.12064359
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? | Yes / probably | This species is known from Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve and has been reported from the Ponmudi Hills and Athirimala in Kerala. It is also known from Melagaram in Courtallam, Tirunelveli District in Tamil Nadu (Vasanthi et al. 2014), Kulathupuzha Forest Ranges and Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala (Jose et al. 2014) and Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary and Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary, also both in Kerala (Sandeep Das, pers. comm. October 2020). It has been reported from Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu, and Kudremukh National Park within the Western Ghats of India. Records from Kudremukh require further investigation to confirm that they belong to this species (India RLA/CNA workshop, October 2020). It is reported from Kakachi, Upper Kodayar, and Sengaltheri inside Kalakad Mundanthurai Wildlife Sanctuary, provided it is confirmed with genetic data (Seshadri KS, pers. comm. October 2020). It ranges between 160 m asl (Vasanthi et al. 2014) and 1,425 m asl (Biju et al. 2011). |
| 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 has been recorded from a number of protected areas. It 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.)? | Yes / probably | Improved habitat protection is required. |
| 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 on its natural history, ecology, and the effects of Bd and climate change is required. Taxonomic research is also required on the subpopulations in Kudremukh National Park Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary and Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, and population monitoring is recommended (India RLA/CNA workshop, October 2020). |
| 10 | Threat mitigation | Are the threats facing the taxon, including any new and emerging threats not considered in the IUCN Red List, potentially reversible? | Threats unlikely to be reversed in time to prevent further decline / extinction | It occurs in riparian habitats and hill streams in tropical moist evergreen and semi-evergreen forest, and may also be present in slightly degraded habitats, including secondary forests, forest edges and streams by the sides of roads. It will tolerate a small degree of habitat disturbance. The main threat to this species is the loss of forest habitat as a result of the harvesting of wood and timber by local people for subsistence purposes. Road killing is a threat to this taxon in Courtallam, and in Ponmudi, and its intensity is expected to become a major cause of decline following the construction of a new state highway (Vasanthi et al. 2014). In Kerala, in Athirumala, Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve an annual pilgrimage takes place, involving hundreds of people per day during the duration of a month (Jan-Mar), which causes littering and pollution of streams in that locality (Sandeep Das, pers. comm October 2020). In Ponmudi and Bonaccaud, pesticide use in the tea plantations in the area is also a threat (India RLA/CNA workshop, October 2020). Road mortalities also occur in Ponmudi and Courtallam, which is a tourism spot - its intensity is expected to become a major cause of decline following to the construction of a new state highway (Vasanthi et al. 2014). Climate change is a potential future threat as it will cause habitat shifting and any changes in monsoon season could cause alteration of breeding behavior (Seshadri KS, pers. comm. October 2020). Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has been confirmed in the genus and in Ponmudi (Gopalan et al. 2011, Sheshadri KS and Sandeep Das, pers. comm. 2020), with morbidity observed but no mortalities to date, but further studies are required to investigate the full effects on this species (India RLA/CNA workshop, October 2020). |
| 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 a locally abundant species although it is not commonly encountered (India RLA/CNA workshop, 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 | |
| 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? | Yes / probably | Unsure of which species would make a good analog, if one is needed (India RLA/CNA workshop, October 2020). |
| 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 | Nyctibatrachus aliciae and Nyctibatrachus vasanthi may make suitable analog species for Nyctibatrachus pillaii, should they be required (Sandeep Das, pers. comm. September 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 | It is found in areas which are frequented by many tourists and so could be used for education purposes in these areas (Seshadri KS, pers. comm. October 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:
Sandeep Das, Nikhil Modak, Rajkumar K.P. and Seshadri K.S. 2020. Conservation Needs Assessment for Nyctibatrachus aliciae, India
(AArk/ASG India Assessment Workshop).
https://conservationneeds.org/assessment/5594
Accessed 04 Feb 2025
