Beddomixalus

Last updated

Beddomixalus bijui
Beddomixalus bijui Munnar.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Rhacophoridae
Subfamily: Rhacophorinae
Genus: Beddomixalus
Abraham, Pyron, Ansil, Zachariah, and Zachariah, 2013 [1]
Species:
B. bijui
Binomial name
Beddomixalus bijui
(Zachariah, Dinesh, Radhakrishnan, Kunhikrishnan, Palot, and Vishnudas, 2011)
Synonyms [2]
  • Polypedates bijuiZachariah, Dinesh, Radhakrishnan, Kunhikrishnan, Palot, and Vishnudas, 2011 [3]

Beddomixalus is a monotypic genus of frogs in the family Rhacophoridae. [4] [5] The only described species, Beddomixalus bijui, is endemic to the Western Ghats, India. [2] Its name is derived from a combination of the cognomen of Richard Henry Beddome, in honour of his work on the amphibian diversity of the Western Ghats, as well as Ixalus, which is often used as a suffix for names of rhacophorid genera. [1] [6]

Contents

Description

Beddomixalus differs from the other rhacophorid genera by being a slender and elongated medium-sized frog, the female measuring up to 6.1 centimetres (2.4 in) in length; its yellowish-buff or reddish-brown dorsum carrying two distinct yellowish-cream longitudinal stripes; vomerine teeth and an absent lingual papilla; distinct supratympanic fold as well as tympanum; a rounded canthus rostralis; an obtusely concave loreal region; a simple and tubular Wolffian duct. At the same time, the early development of non-pigmented eggs occur exposed on moist swamp beds, without protection nor parental care; it has free-living aquatic tadpoles which are adapted to lentic conditions; and the genus inhabits mid- to high elevation forests. [1]

Colour

Male

Its dorsum is of buff-brown colour with a dark stripe between the eyes; a dark stripe extends medially from its interorbital region to its vent. It possesses two light-coloured, yellowish-cream longitudinal stripes extending along its dorsolateral region, on either side of its body, which are bordered on the lower side by black dots; a broad dark band extends from below the snout along the tympanum as well, up to the middle of the animal's flank, where it morphs into a pale patch covered in vermiculations. [1]

Female

It has a reddish- to orange-brown dorsum with similar dark and light bands and vermiculations as in the male, while its ventral surface is white. [1]

Tadpoles

Tadpoles are small, exotrophic and nektonic. They are oval, depressed and dark pigmented from the snout to the tip of the tail, including their fins. The ventral side is pale pink and less pigmented. Eyes are reddish and of moderate size. The musculus interhyoideus and intestine are visible through the ventrum. Its naris is equidistant from its snout and eye. Its tail fin is moderate and rounded at the end. The lower jaw sheath is V-shaped. [1]

Tadpoles of this species were observed with completely developed hindlimbs at stage 40, with a pale dorsolateral band appearing at stage 42. Its eyes are bright red and its body pigmentation is a greenish-yellow by stage 44, whilst metamorphs begin emerging on land. During stage 46, froglets are found on swamp vegetation. [1]

Behaviour

The type species is primarily arboreal, inhabiting trees in and around highland swamps or marshes. During early breeding season, males were observed to aggregate around optimal breeding locations in unfilled swamp beds. They begin migrating to these during the onset of pre-monsoon showers from surrounding forest. Most males rest on shrubs and bushes up to a height of about 2 metres (6.6 ft) and make a pulsating breeding chorus in unison. Air around these males is said to stink of "burnt rubber", similar to that felt around aggregating males of Hylarana malabarica . This odour is thought to be produced by glands on their dorsolateral margin. Males come down from their calling spots as night progresses and move on to grass patches in the swamp beds. [1]

Amplexus is pectoral. Eggs are non-pigmented and semiterrestrial, with an average diameter of 3.2mm. They are scattered on moist soil or a grassy substrate. Total clutch size was observed as 175 eggs. [1]

Distribution

B. bijui is found in an elevation of between 1,100 to 1,600 metres (3,600 to 5,200 ft) above sea level in evergreen forests in the Eravikulam plateau. [1]

Related Research Articles

Purple frog Species of amphibian

The purple frog is a frog species belonging to the family Sooglossidae. It can be found in the Western Ghats in India. Names in English that have been used for this species are purple frog, Indian purple frog, or pignose frog. Although the adult frog was formally described in October 2003, the taxon was recognized much earlier by its tadpole, which had been described in 1918.

Rhacophoridae Family of amphibians

The Rhacophoridae are a family of frogs that occur in tropical sub-Saharan Africa, South India and Sri Lanka, Japan, northeastern India to eastern China, south through the Philippines and Greater Sundas, and Sulawesi. They are commonly known as shrub frogs, or more ambiguously as "moss frogs" or "bush frogs". Some Rhacophoridae are called "tree frogs". Among the most spectacular members of this family are numerous "flying frogs".

Rhacophorinae Subfamily of amphibians

The Rhacophorinae are a subfamily of frogs in the family Rhacophoridae. They range from tropical Africa and Asia to temperate China and Japan.

<i>Polypedates</i> Genus of amphibians

Polypedates is a genus of frogs in the family Rhacophoridae, the shrub frogs and Paleotropic tree frogs. They belong to subfamily Rhacophoridae. Members of this genus are collectively known as whipping frogs. They occur in eastern and southern Asia.

Hyloxalus elachyhistus is a species of frog in the family Dendrobatidae. It is found in southern Ecuador and northern Peru, in the Huancabamba Depression and south to Cajabamba Province.

<i>Hyloxalus nexipus</i> Species of frog

Hyloxalus nexipus is a species of frog in the family Dendrobatidae. It is found on eastern slopes and foothills of the Andes from southeastern Ecuador south to the region of Yurimaguas in Peru.

<i>Hyperolius guttulatus</i> Species of frog

Hyperolius guttulatus is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It occurs in West and Middle Africa between Sierra Leone in the west and Gabon in the east/south. Common name dotted reed frog has been coined for this species.

<i>Hyperolius minutissimus</i> Species of frog

Hyperolius minutissimus is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. Its common names are tiny reed frog and dwarf reed frog. It is endemic to Tanzania and known from the Udzungwa Mountains and from near Njombe in the Southern Highlands.

Leptopelis susanae is a species of frog in the family Arthroleptidae. It is endemic to southwest Ethiopia and known from the Gughe Mountains and Saja Forest. The specific name susanae honours Susan, the wife of the describer, Malcolm Largen. Common names Susan's tree frog and Susana's [sic] forest treefrog have been coined for this species.

<i>Leptodactylus spixi</i> Species of frog

Leptodactylus spixi is a species of frog in the family Leptodactylidae. It is endemic to eastern Brazil and occurs in the Atlantic forests of the Bahia, Espírito Santo, and Rio de Janeiro states. The specific name spixi honors Johann Baptist von Spix, a German naturalist who worked in Brazil. Prior to its description, this species had been referred to as Leptodactylus mystaceus(Spix, 1824). Common name Spix's white-lipped frog has been coined for this species.

<i>Raorchestes flaviventris</i> Species of amphibian

Raorchestes flaviventris is a species of arboreal, nocturnal, frog of the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats, South India. Its common name is yellow-bellied bush frog.

<i>Raorchestes luteolus</i> Species of amphibian

Raorchestes luteolus is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats, India, where it is only known from the state of Karnataka. Many of the known populations are from the Kodagu district, known also by its anglicised former name of Coorg—hence the common name. It is also known from the Shimoga district in the Sharavathi basin where it was described as a new species, Philautus neelanethrus, but this is now considered to be a junior synonym of Raorchestes luteolus.

<i>Rhacophorus lateralis</i> Species of amphibian

Rhacophorus lateralis is an endangered rhacophorid tree frog endemic to the Western Ghats in South India. It has several common names: small tree frog, Boulenger's tree frog, small gliding frog, and winged gliding frog. After its original description in 1883 by George Albert Boulenger, the frog was rediscovered in Coorg in 2000 and has since been found in many parts of the Western Ghats around southern Karnataka and northern Kerala. Along with R. malabaricus, it is one of the few anuran amphibians in India that constructs its nest above the ground using leaves.

<i>Ghatixalus variabilis</i> Species of frog

Ghatixalus variabilis is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats of southern India. It has a number of common names, including green tree frog, though it is terrestrial rather than arboreal in its life style.

<i>Raorchestes ochlandrae</i> Species of amphibian

Raorchestes ochlandrae is a species of shrub frog in the family Rhacophoridae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats, India. This species of the oriental shrub frog was first described from Kakkayam Reserve Forest of Calicut district, Kerala state, in the southern Western Ghats in 2007 but has since been recorded at many other sites along the Western Ghats. The specific name ochlandrae refers to microhabitat of the species, bamboo Ochlandra setigera.

<i>Raorchestes</i> Genus of amphibians

Raorchestes is a genus of frogs in the subfamily Rhacophorinae that can be found in South and Southeast Asia, from southern India to Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos to southern China and Vietnam and West Malaysia. They are particularly diverse in the Western Ghats of India. Only four species from the genus have been reported from southeast Asia and China, of which the third was reported as a range extension from Myanmar in 2019. Before the description of the genus in 2010, species now in Raorchestes had been assigned to genera Ixalus, Philautus, and Pseudophilautus. A recent study places Raorchestes as a sister taxon of Pseudophilautus.

<i>Mercurana</i> Genus of amphibians

Mercurana is a genus of arboreal frogs belonging to the family Rhacophoridae. The genus was named from the only known species Mercurana myristicapalustris, which was described in 2013 from the Western Ghats of Kerala, India. The generic name was derived from and given as a tribute to Freddie Mercury, the late vocalist of the British rock band Queen, in combination with the Latin name for "frog". The frog is different from other related frogs in that it has extensively webbed toes, lives only in swampy lowlands, and lays its eggs on mud with which it carefully mixes leaf litter.

<i>Ghatixalus</i> Genus of amphibians

Ghatixalus is a genus of frogs in the family Rhacophoridae, subfamily Rhacophorinae. They are endemic to the Western Ghats of southern India. They are the sister taxon to a larger clade consisting of Chiromantis, Feihyla, Taruga, Polypedates, and Rhacophorus. The name of the genus combines words "Ghats" and "Ixalus". The former refers to the Western Ghats, and the latter to now-abandoned genus name that lives as the suffix in many generic names for rhacophorid frogs.

<i>Ghatophryne</i> Genus of amphibians

Ghatophryne is a small genus of true toads endemic to the southern Western Ghats, India. The genus was erected in 2009 when the former Ansonia ornata was found to be distinct enough to warrant its own genus; Ansonia rubigina was moved based on its morphological similarity and distribution.

<i>Megophrys cheni</i> Species of frog

Megophrys cheni is a species of frog in the family Megophryidae. It is endemic to the middle Luoxiao Mountains at the border of Jiangxi and Hunan provinces in south-eastern China. Its specific name honours Chen Chunquan, former director of the Jinggang National Nature Reserve.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Abraham, Robin Kurian; Pyron, R. Alexander; Ansil, Basheer Rahmath; Zachariah, Arun & Zachariah, Anil (2013). "Two novel genera and one new species of treefrog (Anura: Rhacophoridae) highlight cryptic diversity in the Western Ghats of India". Zootaxa. 3640 (2): 177–199. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3640.2.3.
  2. 1 2 Frost, Darrel R. (2019). "Beddomixalus bijui (Zachariah, Dinesh, Radhakrishnan, Kunhikrishnan, Palot, and Vishnudas, 2011)". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  3. Zachariah, A.; Dinesh, K. P.; Radhakrishnan, C.; Kunhikrishnan, E.; Palot, M. J. & Vishnudas, C. K. (2011). "A new species of Polypedates Tschudi (Amphibia: Anura: Rhacophoridae) from southern Western Ghats, Kerala, India". Biosystematica. 5 (1): 49–53.
  4. Frost, Darrel R. (2019). "Beddomixalus Abraham, Pyron, Ansil, Zachariah, and Zachariah, 2013". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  5. "Rhacophoridae". AmphibiaWeb. University of California, Berkeley. 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  6. "Beddomixalus bijui". AmphibiaWeb. University of California, Berkeley. 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.

Further reading