Indirana

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Indirana
Shola talakaverifrog.jpg
Adult Indirana semipalmata
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Ranixalidae
Genus: Indirana
Laurent, 1986
Type species
Polypedates beddomii
Günther, 1876
Diversity
14 species (see text)
Tadpole of I. cf semipalmata Tadpole iruppu.jpg
Tadpole of I. cf semipalmata
Indirana spp.jpg

Indirana is a genus of frogs in the family Ranixalidae. [1] [2] These frogs are endemic to the Western Ghats of India. They are sometimes known under the common name Indian frogs, [3] whereas members of their parent family are named "leaping frogs". [1] [4]

Contents

Indirana represent an ancient radiation of frogs that diverged from all other frogs almost 50 million years ago. This has credited Indirana gundia as a status of one of the "Top 100 Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered Amphibians". [5]

Description

Indirana species are small and slender-bodied frogs. They are typically found in leaf litter or near streams. [4] The tadpoles have hind limbs and finless tails, and are able to leap away to escape threats. [5] [6]

A frog from the genus Indirana Indirana.JPG
A frog from the genus Indirana

Taxonomy

Traditional classifications place the genus within the subfamily Ranixalinae of the family Ranidae, along with the genera Nannophrys and Nyctibatrachus . [7] The Ranixalinae have also been placed under the family Nyctibatrachidae. [8] Darrel R. Frost et al. (2006) placed them within the family Petropedetidae. [9] [10]

Species

New species are still being discovered: Indirana salelkari was discovered in the Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary in the Indian state of Goa and described in late July 2015. [11] The following species are recognised in the genus Indirana: [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Nyctibatrachus</i> Genus of amphibians

Nyctibatrachus is a genus of frogs endemic to the Western Ghats of southwestern India. Their common name is night frogs. Their scientific name also means "night frog", in reference to their habits and dark color. They are the only extant members of the monotypic subfamily Nyctibatrachinae. Currently, 35 species belong to Nyctibatrachus.

<i>Conraua</i> Genus of amphibians

Conraua, known as slippery frogs or giant frogs is a genus of large frogs from sub-Saharan Africa. Conraua is the only genus in the family Conrauidae. Alternatively, it may be placed in the family Petropedetidae.

<i>Micrixalus</i> Genus of amphibians

Micrixalus is a genus of frogs from that are endemic to the Western Ghats in India. They are monotypic within the family Micrixalidae. Before being raised to the family level they were classified as the subfamily Micrixalinae within Ranidae. Micrixalus frogs are popularly known as "dancing frogs" due to their peculiar habit of waving their feet to attract females during the breeding season. Dancing frogs are extremely vulnerable as their habitat is severely threatened.

<i>Indirana semipalmata</i> Species of amphibian

Indirana semipalmata is a species of frog endemic to the Western Ghats region of southern India. They are small frogs, reaching lengths of about 36 mm (1.4 in) from snout to vent. The species breeds during the monsoons, laying their eggs on moist rocks and tree bark. Their tadpoles are terrestrial - hatching, feeding, and undergoing metamorphosis without ever entering any standing bodies of water.

<i>Indirana leithii</i> Species of amphibian

Indirana leithii is a species of frog in the family Ranixalidae. It is endemic to the northern Western Ghats of India. As currently defined, its range is restricted to the states of Maharashtra and southern Gujarat; earlier records elsewhere refer to other species.

<i>Walkerana diplosticta</i> Species of amphibian

Walkerana diplosticta, also known as the spotted leaping frog, Malabar Indian frog, rufous leaf-hopper frog, and Günther's frog, is a species of frog in the family Ranixalidae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats south of the Palghat Gap and only known with certainty from the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, India. Localities with confirmed records include the Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve.

Indirana tenuilingua is a species of frog that is considered nomen inquirendum. It is only known from the type series, now lost, from its type locality, Kemphole, in the Western Ghats of India. It is sometimes known as Rao's Indian frog or slender-tongued frog.

Aromobatidae Family of amphibians

The Aromobatidae are a family of frogs native to Central and South America. They are sometimes referred to as cryptic forest frogs or cryptic poison frogs. They are the sister taxon of the Dendrobatidae, the poison dart frogs, but are not as toxic as most dendrobatids are.

Phytotriades is a genus of tree frogs in the family Hylidae. As currently delimited, the genus is monotypic and contains Phytotriades auratus, commonly known as the golden tree frog, bromeliad-dwelling treefrog, El Tucuche golden tree frog, or Trinidad heart-tongued frog.

<i>Megaelosia</i> Genus of amphibians

Megaelosia is a genus of frogs in the family Hylodidae. The genus is endemic to the Serra do Mar and Serra da Mantiqueira in southeastern Brazil. These frogs are sometimes known as the big-tooth frogs.

<i>Phrynobatrachus</i> Genus of amphibians

Phrynobatrachus is a genus of Sub-Saharan frogs that form the monogeneric family Phrynobatrachidae. Their common name is puddle frogs, dwarf puddle frogs, African puddle frogs, or African river frogs. The common name, puddle frog, refers to the fact that many species breed in temporary waterbodies such as puddles.

<i>Oophaga</i> Genus of amphibians

Oophaga is a genus of poison-dart frogs containing twelve species, many of which were formerly placed in the genus Dendrobates. The frogs are distributed in Central and South America, from Nicaragua through the Colombian El Choco to northern Ecuador. Their habitats vary with some species being arboreal while other being terrestrial, but the common feature is that their tadpoles are obligate egg feeders.

<i>Adelphobates</i> Genus of amphibians

Adelphobates is a small genus of poison dart frogs. They are found in the central and lower Amazon basin of Peru and Brazil, possibly Bolivia. It was originally erected as a sister group to the Dendrobates and Oophaga genera. The validity of the genus is still being discussed, with the alternative being "Dendrobates galactonotus group" within Dendrobates. One species originally placed in this genus as Adelphobates captivus has since been moved to the genus Excidobates erected in 2008.

Nyctibatrachidae Family of amphibians

Nyctibatrachidae is a small family of frogs found in the Western Ghats of India and in Sri Lanka. Their common name is robust frogs. Recognition of Nyctibatrachidae as a family is fairly recent. These frogs were earlier on placed in the broadly defined family Ranidae, most recently divided in three subfamilies, Lankanectinae, Nyctibatrachinae, and Astrobatrachinae.

<i>Raorchestes</i> Genus of amphibians

Raorchestes is a genus of frogs in the subfamily Rhacophorinae that are found in mountainous regions of South Asia, Southeast Asia, and southern China. A recent study places Raorchestes as a sister taxon of Pseudophilautus. Before the description of the genus in 2010, species now in Raorchestes had been assigned to genera Ixalus, Philautus, and Pseudophilautus.

Ranixalidae Family of amphibians

Ranixalidae is a family of frogs commonly known as the leaping frogs or Indian frogs. They are endemic to central and southern India.

<i>Indirana chiravasi</i> Species of amphibian

Indirana chiravasi is a species of frog endemic to the Western Ghats of India. It is only known from its type locality, the laterite plateaus by the hill-station of Amboli, Maharashtra. It was described in 2014 by a team of three scientists from IISER, Pune and MES Abasaheb Garware College.

<i>Walkerana</i> Genus of frogs

Walkerana is a genus of frogs in the family Ranixalidae. The genus is endemic to the Western Ghats in the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, India. It was erected in 2016 to host three species of Indirana that represented a genetically and morphologically distinct clade within the then broadly defined Indirana. Until Walkerana muduga was described in 2020, the genus was only known from the southernmost part of the Western Ghats south of the Palghat Gap.

<i>Indirana tysoni</i>

Indirana tysoni, also known by its common name Tyson's leaping frog is a species from the genus Indirana. The species was originally described in 2016 by Neelesh Dahanukar, Nikhil Modak, Keerthi Krutha, P. O. Nameer, Anand D. Padhye, and Sanjay Molur.

References

  1. 1 2 Frost, Darrel R. (2015). "Ranixalidae Dubois, 1987". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  2. "Ranixalidae". AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web application]. Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb. 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  3. 1 2 Frost, Darrel R. (2015). "Indirana Laurent, 1986". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  4. 1 2 Vitt, Laurie J.; Caldwell, Janalee P. (2014). Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles (4th ed.). Academic Press. p. 503.
  5. 1 2 "Gundia Indian Frog (Indirana gundia)". EDGE of Existence programme. Zoological Society of London. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  6. Veeranagoudar, D. K.; Radder, R. S.; Shanbhag, B. A.; Saidapur, S. K. (2009). "Jumping behavior of semiterrestrial tadpoles of Indirana beddomii (Günth.): relative importance of tail and body size". Journal of Herpetology. 43 (4): 680–684. doi:10.1670/08-158.1. S2CID   86364626.
  7. George R. Zug; Laurie J. Vitt; Janalee P. Caldwell (2001). Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles. Academic Press. p. 430. ISBN   978-0-12-782622-6.
  8. "Ranixalinae". ZipCodeZoo, BayScience Foundation, Inc. Archived from the original on 2 June 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  9. Frost, D. R.; Grant, T.; Faivovich, J. N.; Bain, R. H.; Haas, A.; Haddad, C. L. F. B.; De Sá, R. O.; Channing, A.; Wilkinson, M.; Donnellan, S. C.; Raxworthy, C. J.; Campbell, J. A.; Blotto, B. L.; Moler, P.; Drewes, R. C.; Nussbaum, R. A.; Lynch, J. D.; Green, D. M.; Wheeler, W. C. (2006). "The Amphibian Tree of Life". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 297: 1–291. doi:10.1206/0003-0090(2006)297[0001:TATOL]2.0.CO;2. hdl:2246/5781. S2CID   86140137.
  10. Michael F. Barej; Mark-Oliver Rödel; Legrand Nono Gonwouo; Olivier S.G. Pauwels; Wolfgang Böhme; Andreas Schmitz (2010). "Review of the genus Petropedetes Reichenow, 1874 in Central Africa with the description of three new species (Amphibia: Anura: Petropedetidae)". Zootaxa (2340): 1–49.
  11. "Newly discovered frog species named after Goan forest officer". Business Standard. Press Trust of India. 29 July 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2015.