Astrobatrachus kurichiyana Vijayakumar, Pyron, Dinesh, Torsekar, Srikanthan, Swamy, Stanley, Blackburn & Shanker, 2019
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
astrobatrachus kurichiyana
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Open encyclopedia reference
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.
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. 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.
Wikipedia contributors, Astrobatrachus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T15:15:13.075676+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Astrobatrachus kurichiyana Vijayakumar, Pyron, Dinesh, Torsekar, Srikanthan, Swamy, Stanley, Blackburn & Shanker, 2019
- Name authority
- Vijayakumar, Pyron, Dinesh, Torsekar, Srikanthan, Swamy, Stanley, Blackburn & Shanker, 2019
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Amphibia
- Order
- Anura
- Family
- Nyctibatrachidae
- Genus
- Astrobatrachus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAmphibia
- orderAnura
- familyNyctibatrachidae Blommers-Schlösser, 1993
- subfamilyAstrobatrachinae Vijayakumar, Pyron, Dinesh, Torsekar, Srikanthan, Swamy, Stanley, Blackburn & Shanker, 2019
- genusAstrobatrachus Vijayakumar, Pyron, Dinesh, Torsekar, Srikanthan, Swamy, Stanley, Blackburn & Shanker, 2019
- speciesAstrobatrachus kurichiyana Vijayakumar, Pyron, Dinesh, Torsekar, Srikanthan, Swamy, Stanley, Blackburn & Shanker, 2019
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=1104950 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:5VW4R. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.