Indirana chiravasi

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Amboli leaping frog
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Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Ranixalidae
Genus: Indirana
Species:
I. chiravasi
Binomial name
Indirana chiravasi
Padhye, Modak, and Dahanukar, 2014 [2]

Indirana chiravasi (common name: Amboli leaping frog) 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. [3] [4] It was described in 2014 by a team of three scientists from IISER, Pune and MES Abasaheb Garware College. [4] [5] [1]

Contents

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Indirana chiravasi is only known from Amboli, Maharashtra.

Description

Males measure 25–27 mm (0.98–1.06 in) and females 32–39 mm (1.3–1.5 in) in snout–vent length. The skin is smooth except on the sides that are granular; there are few longitudinal folds on dorsal side. Dorsal colour is olive brown with scattered yellow markings and, in males only, densely organized black spots comprising a W-shaped marking. There is a black strip running from tip of snout to shoulder through eye and tympanum. The fingers are unwebbed whereas the toes are moderately webbed. [2]

Habitat

Indirana chiravasi inhabit lateritic rocky outcrops and occur in a variety of microhabitats. They are often found in the crevices of the laterite boulders; males are mostly seen while calling from the wet rocks or moss-covered boulders. Females have been found under a log in the forest and from under a roadside stone. This frog has been observed between 26 and 998 meters above sea level. [1]

Reproduction

The tadpoles are terrestrial and have been observed feeding on algal matter on wet boulders. [2] They move across wet rocks using their tails and hind limbs, which grow in at a younger age than those of the tadpoles of other species. [1]

Conservation and threats

The IUCN classifies this frog as least concern of extinction, but it is in some danger, largely from habitat loss. Humans build roads, mine ores, and establish cashew plantations. In some places, illegal tree harvesting is also an issue. Pesticides can also kill this frog. Climate change could harm this frog by changing the monsoon climate that it relies on to breed. Some landslide prevention measures can harm this frog; shortcrete can fill in the cracks in the rocks where frogs would lay their eggs. [1]

The frog's range includes at least four protected parks: Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary, Sahyadri Tiger Reserve and its buffer zone, Tamhini Wildlife Sanctuary, and Kali Tiger Reserve. [1]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Indirana brachytarsus</i> Species of frog

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<i>Nannophrys marmorata</i> Species of amphibian

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bombay night frog</span> Species of amphibian

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Walkerana muduga, also known as the Muduga mountain leaping frog or Muduga leaping frog, is a species of frog in the family Ranixalidae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats of India and known from the Elivai Malai range, north of the Palghat Gap in Tamil Nadu. All other known species of Walkerana occur south of the Palghat Gap, and molecular data suggest that Walkerana muduga is deeply divergent from the more southern species. However, there is another, as yet undescribed lineage from north of the Palghat Gap that is known from a single, poorly preserve specimen.

<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> Species of frog

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.

Ghatixalus magnus, the large-sized Ghat tree frog, is a species of frog in the subfamily Rhacophorinae. It is endemic to India, in the southern Western Ghat mountains, between the Palakkad Gap and Shencottah Gap.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2023). "Amboli Leaping Frog: Indirana chiravasi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2023: e.T79076120A166116638. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T79076120A166116638.en . Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 Padhye, A. D.; Modak, N.; Dahanukar, N. (2014). "Indirana chiravasi, a new species of Leaping Frog (Anura: Ranixalidae) from Western Ghats of India". Journal of Threatened Taxa. 6 (10): 6293. doi: 10.11609/JoTT.o4068.6293-312 .
  3. Frost, Darrel R. (2016). "Indirana chiravasi Padhye, Modak, and Dahanukar, 2014". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Pune scientists find new frog species near Amboli". Times of India. 1 October 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  5. "Indirana chiravasi Padhye, Modak, & Dahanukar, 2014". AmphibiaWeb. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 24 May 2024.