Minervarya murthii (Pillai, 1979) - Murthy's Cricket Frog

Subspecies in India

This is also known as the Ghat's Wart Frog.

This species is listed as Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (https://www.iucnredlist.org/).

Photo Gallery and Species Biology


This terrestrial species is extremely rare and currently, it is only found in Naduvattam, Tamil Nadu.  It mainly inhabits inland wetlands and montane tropical moist forests in the southern Western Ghats of India, at altitudes of around 2,200m asl. It breeds by larval development in water.

Conservation Status:

This species is listed as Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (https://www.iucnredlist.org/).

According to the IUCN Red List assessment, the population of this species is declining, and currently, its population size is unknown. Its Extent of Occurrence is estimated to be less than 100 sq km, with all the individuals being reported from a single location. The threat to its persistence comes from habitat disturbance due to large-scale agriculture and commercial timber plantations.

StateJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecNo date
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Chandigarh
Chhattisgarh
Dadra & Nagar Haveli
Daman & Diu
Delhi
Goa
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir
Jharkhand
Karnataka
Kerala
Lakshadweep
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Odisha
Paschimbanga
Pondicherry
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh
Uttarakhand
West Bengal
Total

Biju, S.D., Dutta, S. & Ravichandran, M.S. 2016. Fejervarya murthii. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T58278A91234248. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T58278A91234248.en. Accessed on 28 November 2020.

Page citation

Anonymous 2024. Minervarya murthii (Pillai, 1979) – Murthy's Cricket Frog. In Gosavi, N., A. Bayani, and K. Kunte (Chief Editors). Butterflies of India, v. 1.05. Published by the Indian Foundation for Butterflies. URL: https://www.indianamphibians.org/minervarya-murthii, accessed 2024/11/01.