Rare shrub frog rediscovered [December 28 2013]

A shrub frog endemic to Sri Lanka was rediscovered from Sri Pada area by a group of Sri Lankan researchers during a recent explorations. The frog scientifically known as Pseudophilautus Hypomelas was not recorded since 1876 and was considered to be extinct.

The Sri Lankan research group was led by expert Herpetologist Mendis Wickramasinghe. Pseudophilautus is a genus of shrub frogs endemic to the Western Ghats of Southwestern India and to Sri Lanka where the majority of the species are found. Many of them are already extinct.

Sri Lanka claims to have the highest number of extinct amphibians which counts up to 19 species . According to researchers this rediscovered frog should be considered as Critically Endangered under the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria as it is recorded from a single location the Sri Pada.

The habitat of this rediscovered species is under severe human activities such as over exploitation of natural resources for tea cultivation, forest fragmentation, use of agrochemicals, soil .