[1][2] The species was originally described as Rana (Hylorana) intermedius by Rao in 1937, from a specimen discovered in Sakleshpur, Kingdom of Mysore (now in Karnataka), in the Western Ghats mountain range.

[5] A 2014 study confirmed the genetic distinctiveness of the species, while showing that the presumed H. temporalis specimens of the Western Ghats were misidentified H. aurantiaca, which was recovered as the frog's closest relative.

[2] Indosylvirana intermedia is found in the Western Ghats north of the Palakkad Gap, in the Indian states of Karnataka and Kerala.

Later examination of photographic evidence suggested the mushroom to be Mycena sp., a saprotrophic fungi which is mostly found in decomposing wood, although it has already been reported to grow on living tree roots.

[1][8] A possibility, advanced by researcher Karthikeyan Vasudevan, is that the mushroom grew from a piece of woody debris stuck under the frog's skin.