Common Name: Castle Rock Night Frog, Castle Rock Wrinkled Frog
Scientific Name: Nyctibatrachus petraeus
Family: Nyctibatrachidae – Night Frog family
Locations: India
Female Size: 1.5 – 1.8 inches (37 – 45.5 mm)
Male Size: 1.25 – 1.85 inches (32 – 47 mm)
The Castle Rock Night Frog lives near the streams in the evergreen forests of Castle Rock in the western Ghats of India. The mating season coincides with the start of the southwest monsoon season in late May / early June. The male frogs call from leaves overhanging streams to attract a female mate. Once the female frog arrives, she selects her mate but the male frog picks the spot to lay the eggs. The Castle Rock Night Frog do not perform amplexus (where the male grabs the female from behind) when mating. The female frog lays between 10 to 50 eggs and leaves. Then, the male frog comes over and fertilizes the eggs. Then, the male frog moves to a different spot on the leaf and calls for a new female mate. Neither parent provides any parental care for the offspring. The mating season lasts until September. Once the eggs hatch, the tadpoles fall into the stream below where they will complete their metamorphosis.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assess the Castle Rock Night Frog as Least Concern for Extinction The frog is common in its large range. However, the forests of the western Ghats have been changed by humans. Portions of the forests has been changed to plantations for Eucalyptus, coffee, and tea and more land continues to change.