Which country is the native home of the purple frog?

The native home of the purple frog is India.

The Indian purple frog, Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis, is endemic to the Western Ghats, a mountain range running along western India. Its restricted range makes “India” the canonical country answer; Indonesia, Madagascar and Brazil are not its native home.

This unusual frog was formally described in 2003, although its tadpole had been documented as early as 1917. Adults spend much of the year underground and emerge during the monsoon or pre-monsoon rains for explosive breeding. Their pointed snouts and rounded bodies help with burrowing, while tadpoles use oral suckers to cling to fast-flowing streams.

The species is evolutionarily distinctive. Its closest living relatives are frogs in the family Sooglossidae, found in the Seychelles, an island group in the Indian Ocean. That relationship preserves clues about ancient connections among landmasses once associated with Gondwana. The frog’s common names include Indian purple frog, Mahabali frog and pignose frog.