Mahabali frog or Maveli is strongest candidate to become official ambhibian of Kerala. The proposal is under consideration of government and soon to be declared as state’s amphibian Principal Chief conservator of forest and chief wildlife warden said. It is also called as purple frog or pignose frog and is rarest species of frogs. It is endemic to western ghats. Its scientific name is  Nasikanbatrachus sahyadrensis. It is unique species of frog and is listed as endangered species in IUCN red list of threatened species.

• Purple frog has a bloated body with short stout limbs and have and is dark purple to greyish in colour. By conserving the Mahabali frog the whole aquatic eco- system along with the biodiversity of Western Ghats can be conserved.

WHY IT IS NAMED AS MAHABALI FROG?

It is named as Mahabali frog because of its similar characterstic with their mythological king Mahabali.It is said King Mahabali was banished to underworld and was allowed to meet once with its subjects.This purple frog also come one day above the surface of earth once a year.It lives in deep layers of earth and eat soil termites. It come once a year above surface of earth for breeding.

Efforts are made to pronounce the Purple frog as an ‘umbrella species’ much like the tiger so that the habitat as well as other species, living in the same diversity, can be indirectly protected.

• Umbrella species are species that are selected for conservation-related decisions because the conservation and protection of these species indirectly affect the conservation and protection of other species within their ecosystem. Umbrella species help in the selection of potential reserve locations, as well as the determination of the composition of the reserve.
• Because Over 50 per cent of pink frog habitats lies outside the protected areas. The rampant construction of unauthorised check dams leads to submerging of the perennial breeding grounds of the frogs. Additionally, road networks lie close to their breeding grounds and hundreds of cases of road-kills go unreported every year.