• Recently, the Rare Myristica Swamp Tree frog has been recorded for the first time north of the Shencottah gap in  Vazhachal Reserve Forest in Thrissur.
• Myristica Swamp Tree frog is a rare arboreal species endemic to the Western Ghats that bears the scientific name Mercurana myristica palustris
• The frog was first described in 2013 from the lowland Myristica swamps of Arippa, near Kulathupuzha Reserve Forest, in the western foothills of Agasthyamalai.
• The current species was spotted by the researchers 170 km north of Arippa.
• Unlike the Myristica Swamp Treefrog found in the foothills of the Agasthyamalai, these frogs were found to be active throughout June and early July and has adapted to a non-Myristica swamp predominant with the plant    Polyalthia fragrans

Unique Breeding Behaviour:

• The breeding season, unlike for other frogs, starts in the pre monsoon season (May) and ends before the monsoon becomes fully active in June.
• Before the end of the breeding season, the female frogs along with their male counterparts descend on the forest floor.
• The female digs the mud and lays eggs in shallow burrows in mud.
• After breeding and egg laying, they retreat back to the high canopies of the tree and remain elusive till the next breeding season.
• The Myristica swamps are tropical freshwater swamp forests with an abundance of Myristica trees.
• Myristica trees are the most primitive of the flowering plants on earth.
• The evergreen, water-tolerant trees have dense stilt roots helping them stay erect in the thick, black, wet alluvial soil. The trees form a fairly dense forest with a closed canopy.
• The swamps are typically found in valleys, making them prone to inundation during monsoon rains.