Amphibians, a highly diverse group of vertebrates, are exemplified by as many as 5948 recognized species with representatives found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats, including the coldest and driest regions or the most remote oceanic islands of the globe. Among the living amphibians, Anurans (frogs and toads) represents the largest order that is of great interest to evolutionary biologists because of their faster evolutionary rate and their part in amphibian diversity. However, these small eco-friendly organisms are under threat worldwide; a number of recent studies conclusively have shown large-scale decline in anuran diversity due to numerous reasons, mainly being: habitat degradation, urbanization, and other anthropogenic factors. India, particularly Western Ghats is one of the major global hot spots of anuran diversity and is a unique reservoir of ancient endemic anurans, where more than 135 anuran species have been described and many more awaits description.
