Astrobatrachus

Astrobatrachus is a genus of frogs in the family Nyctibatrachidae that is endemic to the Western Ghats of India. It is the only member of the subfamily Astrobatrachinae and is represented by a single species, Astrobatrachus kurichiyana, commonly known as the starry dwarf frog.

Astrobatrachus
Astrobatrachus kurichiyana
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Anura
Family:	Nyctibatrachidae
Subfamily:	Astrobatrachinae Vijayakumar et al., 2019
Genus:	Astrobatrachus Vijayakumar et al., 2019
Species:	A. kurichiyana
Binomial name
Astrobatrachus kurichiyana Vijayakumar et al., 2019

It was discovered in the shola cloud forests of the Wayanad Plateau, and is considered a relict species due to its very small range restricted to certain refugia habitats. It is genetically highly different from both Nyctibatrachus and Lankanectes, with their last common sister species hypothesized to have existed several millions of years ago.[1] It can physically be distinguished by its brown coloration with an orange belly and bluish-white spots. This species is threatened by its very small distribution which completely falls outside protected areas, making it vulnerable to habitat degradation.[2][3]