cave dancing frog

amphibian

Also known as: Micrixalus spelunca

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Last updated

July 22, 2026

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The cave dancing frog (Micrixalus spelunca) is a unique amphibian discovered in India's Western Ghats in 2014. It is named for the distinctive foot-flagging behavior of males, who spread their webbed hind feet in a territorial display. This cave-dwelling frog lives near swift streams and damp caves. Its tadpoles burrow in the sand of shallow streams. The species is currently threatened by habitat loss, pollution, climate change, and fungal infections.1

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10 Critically Endangered Animals of India
Cave dancing frog (Micrixalus spelunca)
Dancing frogs are named for the unique foot-flagging behavior of the males, wherein a male extends his hind legs one at a time and spreads out his webbed feet as part of a territorial display to establish a nesting site.…
Read More
Dancing frogs are named for the unique foot-flagging behavior of the males, wherein a male extends his hind legs one at a time and spreads out his webbed feet as part of a territorial display to establish a nesting site.…
Read More