Cornufer vitianus

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Cornufer vitianus
Fiji ground frog.JPG
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Ceratobatrachidae
Genus: Cornufer
Species:
C. vitianus
Binomial name
Cornufer vitianus
Synonyms
  • Platymantis vitianus(Dumeril, 1853)

Cornufer vitianus, commonly known as Fiji ground frog or Viti wrinkled ground frog, is a species of frog in the family Ceratobatrachidae. It is endemic to Fiji. [2]

Presumed to be originally a forest species, it is nowadays also found in a range of man-made habitats, including degraded forest, rural gardens, plantations, and even close to the beach. [1]

The Fiji ground frog is found on four larger islands (Taveuni, Vanua Levu, Ovalau, and Gau) and a small island, Viwa, (0.6 ha) off the eastern coast of the main island (Viti Levu) of the Fiji archipelago. The species maintains populations throughout the forested (primary, secondary and coastal/littoral) parts of these islands (Osborne, unpublished data).

A largish frog, it can grow up to 100 g and to body lengths (SUL) of 110 mm. The larger individuals tend to be a very dull dark brown (sometimes with yellow spots on either side of the head near the tympanum). However, smaller adults and juvenile frogs can be highly polymorphic in coloration, with banding and stippling in darker or lighter hues of red, brown, green and curry-yellow. It is distinguished from the Cornufer vitiensis by its larger size and smaller toe pads.

The Fiji ground is a nocturnal ground dweller, however, individuals have been encountered on low branches and leaves of riparian forest vegetation. It is thought to be a sit and wait predator, waiting for nocturnal insects to venture nearby.

Reproduction

The breeding cycle of these frogs is affected by extrinsic environmental conditions and intrinsic reproductive hormonal mechanisms. During the active breeding phase mature gravid females clearly show the presence of large creamy eggs. Nesting occurs terrestrially, mostly underneath rotting logs, and crevices within coconut tree bark and within bamboo. This species lays around 50-60 eggs inside prepared nests and covered with leaf litter. Embryonic development takes place over 29–30 days and froglets hatch directly from eggs forgoing the tadpole stage. The age at maturity of C. vitianus is still not known.

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<i>Cornufer heffernani</i> Species of amphibian

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Cornufer gilliardi, commonly known as Gilliard's wrinkled ground frog, is a species of frog in the family Ceratobatrachidae. It is endemic to the Whiteman Ranges of New Britain, Bismarck Archipelago. The specific name gilliardi honors Ernest Thomas Gilliard, an American ornithologist who, together with Margaret Gilliard, collected the holotype.

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<i>Platymantis insulatus</i> Species of amphibian

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<i>Cornufer papuensis</i> Species of frog

Cornufer papuensis is a species of frog in the family Ceratobatrachidae. It is found in the northern parts of New Guinea and in many surrounding islands, including the Bismarck Archipelago, D'Entrecasteaux Islands, Trobriand Islands, and Maluku Islands including Sula Islands and Seram Island (Indonesia). Common name Papua wrinkled ground frog has been coined for the species.

Cornufer punctatus, commonly known as the dotted wrinkled ground frog, is a species of frog in the family Ceratobatrachidae. It is endemic to Western New Guinea (Indonesia) and occurs in the Arfak and Wondiwoi Mountains in the Guinean mainland well as on some adjacent islands.

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<i>Platymantis vitiensis</i> Species of amphibian

Platymantis vitiensis is a species of frog in the family Ceratobatrachidae. It is one of two endemic frogs in Fiji, the other being the closely related Platymantis vitianus.

Ceratobatrachidae Family of amphibians

The Ceratobatrachidae are a family of frogs found in the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, the Philippines, Palau, Fiji, New Guinea, and the Admiralty, Bismarck, and Solomon Islands.

Fiji tropical moist forests

The Fiji tropical moist forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion in Fiji and Wallis and Futuna. It covers the windward sides of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, Fiji's largest islands, as well as the smaller Fijian islands and the three islands that make up Wallis and Futuna, an overseas territory of France.

References

  1. 1 2 IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2020). "Cornufer vitianus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T17518A83669326. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T17518A83669326.en . Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  2. Frost, Darrel R. (2019). "Cornufer vitianus (Duméril, 1853)". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 6 November 2019.