Assessment Results
Nyctibatrachus humayuni
Humayun's Wrinkled Frog, Bombay Night Frog
Order:
Anura
Family:
Nyctibatrachidae
Synonym(s):
Assessed for:
India
on:
16 Sep 2020
by:
AArk/ASG India Assessment Workshop
Authors:
Nikhil Danddekar, Akshay Gawade, Gururaja K.V., Priti Hebbar, Amit Hegde, Girish K.G., Krishna Komanduri, Nikhil Modak, Madhushri Mudke, Dr. Anand Padhye, Harshil Patel and Gayathri Sreedharan
IUCN Global Red List:
Vulnerable (VU)
National Red List:
(not assessed)
Distribution:
India
Evolutionary Distinctiveness score:
17.78261103
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.] | Vulnerable (VU) | |
| 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 is endemic to the Western Ghats of Maharashtra State in India. It has been recorded from Koyna Valley, Bhimashankar, and Amboli. This night frog is widely distributed in the districts of Satara, Pune and Raigad in Maharashtra State in India. In Satara District, it is present in Koyna-Humbarli and Mahabaleshwar, in Pune District in Khandala, and in Raigad District in Matheran (Biju et al. 2011). It also occurs in Harishchandragad, Taleghar and Mulshi (Dahanukar et al. 2013), Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary in Raigad District (Katwate et al. 2013), and Shirala in Sangli District (Sajjan et al. 2017). It has been recorded from Koyna and Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuaries in Maharashtra State. It is also present in Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary in Raigad District (Katwate et al. 2013), and the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve and Tamhini-Sudhagad Wildlife Sanctuary (Nikhil Danddekar, pers. comm. September 2020). It has also been found in Sangameshwar in Ratnagiri district; in Malvan in Sindhudurg district; and in Alibaug in 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 ranges between 150 m asl (Biju et al. 2011), and 1,400 m asl (India RLA/CNA workshop, September 2020). |
| 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 in a number of protected areas (India RLA/CNA workshop, September 2020). 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 management and additional protection is needed , as well as educating tourists to decrease the level of pollution (India RLA/CNA workshop, September 2020). |
| 9 | In situ research | Is additional in situ research required to better understand the species, e.g. distribution, population trends, natural history etc.? | Yes | Additional research on its population is required (India RLA/CNA workshop, September 2020). Further studies are required to investigate the full effects of Bd on this species (India RLA/CNA workshop September 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 are likely to be reversible in time frame to prevent further decline / extinction | It has been collected from disturbed forest edge habitat, as well as secondary forest (Nikhil Modak, pers. comm. September 2020). The conversion of forest to agricultural areas, water pollution by agrochemicals, the siltation of streams resulting from deforestation, and the construction of roads, road widening and the development of tourism in the region, are all considered threats to this species. Infection by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis is a threat to this taxon (Dahanukar et al. 2013), and sloughing of skin due to Bd has been observed and although no mortality has been observed, further studies required to investigate full effects on this species (Nikhil Modak, pers. comm. September 2020). Plastic pollution caused by tourists is a problem as it has been seen obstructing stream flow, and eggs have been observed accidentally laid on polythene bags in polluted rivers (Nikhil Modak, pers. comm. September 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 common species in suitable habitat and is more abundant during the the breeding season (Nikhil Modak, pers. comm. September 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.)? | Aspect of biology shared with < 6 other species | A new type of amplexus habit (dorsal straddle amplexus) has been observed in this species (Nikhil Modak, pers. comm. September 2020, Willaer et al. 2020) and the female is known to call (Nikhil Modak, pers. comm. September 2020). |
| 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? | Unknown | The captive requirements for the species would be difficult to replicate (Dr. Anand Padhye, pers. comm. September 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? | No | |
| 21 | Captive breeding | Has this species been successfully bred and/or maintained in captivity? | Maintained but no successful breeding | This species has been maintained in captivity for a short period at the Animal Orphanage, Katraj (Dr. Anand Padhye, pers. comm. Septmber 2020). |
| 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 | The species can be found on the sides of roads near streams, it has a very melodious call and the eggs are laid on leaves, making it a very interesting species (Nikhil Danddekar, pers. comm. September 2020). The female also calls, which is very unusual (Kotambylu Vasudeva Gururaja, pers. comm. September 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:
Nikhil Danddekar, Akshay Gawade, Gururaja K.V., Priti Hebbar, Amit Hegde, Girish K.G., Krishna Komanduri, Nikhil Modak, Madhushri Mudke, Dr. Anand Padhye, Harshil Patel and Gayathri Sreedharan 2020. Conservation Needs Assessment for Nyctibatrachus humayuni, India
(AArk/ASG India Assessment Workshop).
https://conservationneeds.org/assessment/5604
Accessed 13 Mar 2025
