The species named Nyctibatrachus pulivijayani or Pulivijayan's frog.Feb 2017: After Pulimurugan's scintillating screen success, 'Pulivijayan' is hogging the limelight, albeit in real life.
A research team from the University of Delhi led by professor S.D. Biju has discovered seven new species of frogs, one of which they have named Nyctibatrachus pulivijayani or Pulivijayan's frog.
In October 2008, almost a decade before the film Pulimurugan with popular Malayalam film star Mohanlal as the hero was released, a Kani tribal, Vijayan, battled a real leopard in Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary of Southern Western Ghats.
S.D. Biju with PulivijayanFrom that day Chathancode, Vijayan's village, honors him as the forest hero, Pulivijayan.
Much akin to Murugan's reel-life battles with Puli, which means tiger or leopard in Malayalam. The film broke box office records.
The bonding between S.D. Biju and Pulivijayan is laced with a string of scientific forest expeditions they have ventured on, a fact which the former gratefully acknowledges.
Manalar night frog which is 13.1 mm longAnd Pulivijayan's contributions to the success of his expeditions made Biju confer on him the highest honor and reward that he can bestow as a scientist on an individual -- by naming a new species after Pulivijayan. And that is how 'Nyctibatrachus pulivijayani' was ushered into this planet.
12.2 long Robin Moore's night frog found in KalakkadNyctibatrachus pulivijayani is one among the seven new night frog species that Biju, his research student Sonali Garg, research associate R. Suyesh and S. Sandeep (range officer, Kerala Forest Department) published in the journal PeerJ.
Four among the seven are miniature frogs. Sonali Garg, for whom this study was part of her PhD work, believes that these miniature frogs eluded attention because of their small size, secretive habitats and insect-like calls.
Watch Sonali in video from Systematics Lab of SD Biju, University of Delhi:
The study used three approaches. First the researchers captured the external appearance (morphology) of the frogs, then their genetic profile (DNA) and also how the frogs produces sounds (bioacoustics).
Radcliffe's nigh frog found in NilgirisThe study data provided significant evidence that these night frogs belonged to seven separate species with four being miniature frogs.
Kadalar night frog which is 18.7 mm longAnd if you are wondering how small the miniature frogs are, they are small enough to fit on your thumb nail -- less than 15.0 mm with Nyctibatrachus pulivijayani being 13.0 mm long.
Athirappilly night frog which is 20.9 mm long